The Traitor's Daughter
by FutureErotic
Summary: BANE/OFC "This girl is wrong". That is what people always said about Clara Westborough, she accepted it as her due.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok I started this cause I (like many Batman fans) went a little Bane crazy, not sure if it's the mask or the incredible body… **

**Gunna go with body**

**Anyway… what I wanted to say was NOT SURE HOW OFTEN THIS WILL BE UPDATED, I FEEL I SHOULD WORK MORE ON MY LOKI STORY THEN THIS!**

**Out of respect for fans of my Ballad :P **

**PS: I do not own Batman, or anything associated and also MASSIVE thanks to Beta ****Darkinyron, who has not only edited, but suggested as well :D**

Roughly, I was dragged from the truck I had been chucked into. My arms and legs were bound with something plastic, and I tried to hide my fear as they dragged me over the concrete. There was no way to see where I was; a black bag had been placed over my head long ago. Most of my limbs were so numb I barely felt the abuse as I was shoved to my knees. _This is it, a fitting end for a traitor's daughter_.

But instead of a gun cocking, I heard the thumps of several people next to me.

"Who are they?" The voice came from in front of me; my experience with the police told me that this man was indeed a cop. I instinctively tried shuffling away, but I was instantly held in place by a hand around my neck.

The hand tightened as the man behind me spoke in anger. "Mercenaries, working for Bane."

I was unable to bite back a whimper; everybody knew the story of Bane. Rumour had it that he was a heartless man for hire, one who somehow managed to insight utter loyalty and belief in his followers. They would die for him and the cause, whatever that may be.

The cop grunted. I then felt his eyes focus on me.

"Who is he?" the officer wondered.

"Not a he. She is the daughter of Adam Westborough."

Next came the customary slight whispers that always followed my father's name, and on occasion, mine.

"Clara Annabelle Westborough. What is she doing out here, and why does she look like that?" He was referring to my newly shortened black hair and men's clothing.

"A disguise, Sir. We caught her trying to sneak out of her uncle's home…"

They never did tell me what happened to Uncle F. They had simply bundled me into a truck and drove off.

"She was in hiding, then?" he scoffed. "Not very clever hiding at your uncle's, Clara."

I wished I could have been able to speak through that bag. I would tell them that I hadn't been hiding; I thought that my connection to my father had died with him.

Another voice broke through the sudden tension. "Sir, we need to leave," the cop grunted and I was pulled to my feet. For a second my side touched somebody else and I shuddered. There was something so very frightening about a man having that much hard weight.

"Shall I report their names to headquarters, Sir?"

There was a silence, but next to me I could hear somebody breathing heavily.

"No… Wait, add one."

"The girl, Sir?"

Another deafening silence followed.

"No." My breath seemed to whoosh out of me all at once, and I fell even limper into the arms that held me.

"Bring them and strap them down. Oh, and Jones…"

"Sir?"

"Place the girl near the Mercs, but don't release her bindings."

Sniffling into my bag, I fought back the tears. It wasn't fair that I should be punished for my father's actions. But then again, when had the world ever been fair…?

Minutes later I was bundled into something that clearly had larger engines then a car-_plane-_and strapped down near a window. I could feel the slight sunshine warming my shoulders. The cops hadn't allowed me anything proper to wear when I was kidnapped, so a thin nightgown and dressing gown were my only protection.

Careless hands tightened the seatbelt around me; apparently he was only satisfied when I was barely able to breathe.

Sucking in air like it was life, my vision went black for only a moment; sadly the dizziness stayed longer. _Idiotic cops_.

"Careful, you might kill her." The slightly kinder voice was Russian; I could hear the dulled tone of fear throughout it. But that fear wasn't meant for me.

"Worry about yourself, Doc. Who could miss her anyway? Her only relative was gunned down hours ago."

Anger flared up inside of me. I may not have properly known or liked my uncle but he had protected me somewhat from the world. Sheltered me when everyone else was too scared to, even after the death of my father.

I was ripped from my thoughts when someone's huge shoulders intruded in on my space. Hunching towards the window, I was annoyed to find that my strapped-in self couldn't maintain the position without pain. Carefully, I moved my body back into its original spot; the shoulders next to me didn't move to make any sort of room for me.

_Must be a Merc_… Only they were that uncaring… Well, them and cops according to my experience.

There was silence once more until a strange noise interrupted my, albeit now slighted, thought process. That heavy breathing was back and I stiffened when I finally recognized what I was hearing.

I only knew because of my short stint as a janitor at a hospital, back when I was on the run. In there I had seen a man hooked up to a breathing apparatus and this Merc's arduous breathing was extremely similar to that noise.

Underneath me the plane started up and I felt it start to move around. All too soon it was up in the air and I was basically trapped with a possible mass murderer.

_Surely the cops weren't stupid enough to allow Bane onto an aircraft, with an obviously important asset_… the Russian.

But that breathing kept up. Unwilling to even risk touching this man, I ignored the pain and shifted my body away. I was forced to come back occasionally for proper gasps of air, but was able to keep this up without much difficulty.

That was until I came back for air a tenth time.

The second my back touched the chair a shoulder moved down across it. The Merc had positioned himself so that I was now trapped against the chair. Not daring to move, I waited for him to press down and try to cause me harm. He didn't though; he just kept his shoulder there and stopped my moving. I felt, rather than saw, the Merc's eyes on me. I had no way of knowing if his face was also covered, though somehow I guessed that it was.

"What's wrong, Clara? Not used to being shoved against Mercs…?" That condescending cop was back, and rather than fight off the large Merc I found myself moving a slight bit closer. Next to me, the Merc relaxed his back a little more; I was able to slip more of myself back there. "And you, why are you hiding her?" the officer demanded disapprovingly.

The Merc didn't answer, which lead me to believe my assumption was correct and he was also bagged and tagged, so to speak.

Snorting in annoyance, or at his own supposed cleverness, the cop moved on. I immediately moved out from behind the Merc, not wanting to piss him off in case he actually was Bane. His identity was something that I was almost certain of now that I had properly felt him, for this guy was all muscle and massively tall.

"Alright, bring me the Mercs," the cop's voice snapped through my mind again. I was truly starting to despise this man.

The Merc next to me was pulled away. One part of me breathed in a sigh of relief but the other part missed the fact that he was big enough to keep the cops away.

There were three thumps as the men were shoved to their knees, or I what I assumed to be their knees, anyways. The darkness felt never ending and I would have given anything to see what was happening.

A great gust of wind rushed over me and a roaring noise pierced through the interior of the airplane. _He opened the hatch_? It was impossible for me to hear what was being said, so I huddled down as best I could to escape the cold.

A Russian voice overcame the wind. "Here," the voice said softly.

A jacket was placed around my bound body; I would have thanked him but was too busy enjoying the warmth. Shuddering softly, I ignored everything except the sound of my breathing. Then a faint '_pop_' sounded, much like that of a muted gun. _Did they shoot the Mercs_? I thought for sure that's what had just happened, but then the sound of wind cut off and I could hear the cop yelling at somebody.

"At least you can talk."

That breathing noise started and I knew for sure in that moment that it was him—Bane.

"Perhaps they feel no need to speak to a man who threatens them with a gun, while holding them to an open plane door."

I hid as best I could into the jacket; it was a useless move, but his voice terrified me. It wasn't what I'd expected but at the moment that frightened me even more. That, and the fact that his almost twanged voice sounded far too chipper for a man in custody. Ears now totally muffled, I breathed through my fear, something that failed when bullets shot through the windows on either side of me. By some miracle I was unharmed. Maybe they had seen the jacket and assumed me already dead and simply covered for propriety sake. _More likely they saw the bag and assumed me to be a Merc of Bane's, that or I wasn't considered a big enough threat. _

The plane lurched out from under me. Screaming, I tipped forward only to be stopped by the incredibly painful seatbelt. I heard bodies thumping down towards where the cockpit was tilting; a great wrench was felt and I knew that the wings had snapped off; I could barely hear my own thoughts over the roaring that filled the cabin.

Struggling to breathe I dizzily shifted against the seatbelt, desperate to escape everything. My face suddenly slammed into the neck of somebody with almost too _much_ neck. _Bane_…

"No… No!" Squirming like a fish, I kicked and lashed out. It was a desperate act that failed instantly considering my bonds.

"Do not move, small one. Now is not your time to die." The words had their desired effect and I was shocked still for a moment, just long enough for him to rip the seatbelt away with his hands… _His __bare hands! _

There was a second of free fall before I slammed into the chest of the masked Merc. My hands were nearly crushed and I whimpered at the agony through my bag. His arm, for he only needed one, wrapped around me and something else was strapped around my waist. It felt more like . . . _rope?_

"Prepare the doctor."

Directly next to me, I immediately heard the screaming of the man in question; exactly what were they doing to him? Without a thought for myself or the position we were in, I reached my hands out from between us and tried to struggle towards the doctor, for he was the one person who had shown any compassion towards me. It took only a tightening of one arm to expel the air from my body as well as my fight, and once again struggling for air, I groaned against Bane's body.

With frightening dexterity he shifted us towards the aisle I knew to be hanging. Rather than fall though, Bane shifted me in his one arm slightly and stood somehow upright on them. I surmised that he was using two chairs and his strength to hold us against the fall.

"Come." I had no idea who he was speaking to, but I felt a rush of air and knew that the doctor was gone somehow. "Not you, Brother. They expect one body to be here."

The Merc didn't even bother to argue, but I didn't dwell on it either as with a rush of wind and a slight pulling sensation I knew we were had just been lifted out of the plane.

I didn't scream, just huddled my body further against Bane's and prayed that he didn't decide to drop me.

"Please don't drop me, please don't drop me…" The words puffed out from my mouth, but I barely noticed.

Not soon enough, a pulling on the rope began and I knew that I was being dragged up with Bane into something else; by the noise above us, I was guessing that it had to be another plane. I could only hope that this one would keep its wings. Unceremoniously, a hand gripped me on the shoulder and pulled me up onto something metal. A deep clang behind me confirmed that Bane had pulled himself somehow up and over the opening in the aircraft. The same hand as before carelessly unwrapped the rope from my body; all the while my legs were shaking like jelly and I barely managed to stand upright.

"Shall I remove the bag from her head?"

I desperately wanted to beg them to, but knew my input would alter nothing.

"Yes. I believe she has been in the dark long enough."

I cringed backwards when I realized how close Bane was. I could practically feel his body heat.

The bag was ripped from my head, along with several strands of my black hair. Eyes not adjusting properly, I blinked rapidly and fumbled backwards a step before I crashed into a hard body. It didn't take a genius to figure out that I was touching the masked Merc, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him, even as I jolted back from him.

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

That damned cheerful sounding voice frightened me even more now that I could see the face from which it came, although to be honest I still couldn't properly see his features.

Somehow, I found my voice. "No… I… I… my glasses. The cop took them."

The only response I got was a short and amused, "Hmm." Then something was in front of my face; confused, I reached out and gripped _my glasses_?

I was almost frightened to put them on, but in the end, Bane was far too intimidating to risk rejecting a gift from.

Hands shaking, I slipped them over my nose and instantly wished I had grown some courage and snapped them out of defiance.

Looking up and up, I tried to process the general gigantic figure that was Bane—an impossible task, as I quickly realized. Standing well over my short five foot two inch frame, he cut a terrifying image, but by far the first thing I truly noticed was his mask. It covered his entire mouth and nose, only ending just under his eyes and wrapping around his head with three thick grey bands of metal. Through my addled mind I dimly noticed that the way it was designed could have only been for fear; it looked like he had metal teeth protruding from his mouth that wrapped to his nose and chin from either side.

"You seem rather quiet for one reputed to be the daughter of a traitor. Am I frightening you? That was not my aim, but then again, I suppose it _is_ unavoidable."

A flash of grey in my eye reminded me that Bane's Mercs were still here, and they were watching the exchange with a terrifying lack of emotion.

"What do you want?" The words snapped out loud and unintended. Shocked, I slammed a hand over my mouth and cautiously backed away from the muscular monster.

Tilting his head, Bane regarded me silently; I waited for his hand to rise and for one of his men to suddenly kill me. But that didn't happen.

"Want…" His eyes–practically the only visible thing–crinkled up slightly in the corners and I somehow knew he was smiling behind his breathing device. "I want Gotham to be repentant… and then burn"

**Ending it here cause like I said not sure when I will be updating it, and sorry about factual problems but I have only seen movie once lol I promise to go through it again once I attain a copy of said movie and fix all the mistakes. **

**Xoxo **

**Future**


	2. Chapter 2

**Figured I would give fair warning that this prob won't be an entirely captive/captor fanfic. I have nothing against them (after all I have written quite a few) but don't think it entirely fits with Bane's personality****. Not to worry though fans, there will still be a hell of a lot of sex and tension. **

"You…You can't! Gotham has millions of people living there." He kept staring at me, so in my state of heightened nervousness I kept talking. "Not to mention Gotham's people aren't exactly the repenting types."

I might have heard Bane say more, but in that moment I finally noticed the doctor. He was unconscious and propped up against the cold metal wall. My feet started walking towards him without my brain realizing, only halting when a resonant click sounded next to me. One of Bane's obviously untrained men was pointing a gun at me, which I knew to be a W1200. In my mind, I immediately assessed exactly how one used the gun and how easily it could kill me and the answer was simple—instant death.

Before I could think to move or even react at the impending hole in the stomach, heavy footsteps thumped over to the man.

"Do you want to hurt this woman, one whom I brought on board?"

I glanced quickly at the other men, but they were statues.

My view was blocked by the masked Merc's back, his gigantic, terrifyingly big back…

"No? Perhaps you should not have touched your gun. Maybe then, you could have lived."

I openly gasped at Bane's words and took a willing step towards him, hoping to stop what I knew was coming.

I couldn't stop him.

With a sickening crack and thump the man who threatened me was on the ground, his eyes empty. I held a hand over my mouth when his twitches of inescapable death began, but the hand didn't help me. Falling to my knees, I vomited up what was in my stomach, which thankfully wasn't much.

"A traitor's daughter who has not seen death… Tell me, girl, are you as innocent as you appear or are you simply that good of a liar?"

I did my best to glare at Bane, but from my current position I could literally only see his chest and the roughly spun vest covering it.

"I don't lie." This was true.

Chuckling, Bane hunched down so I could look him in the eyes; I immediately diverted my gaze. It was like looking into pure conviction, and it made me sick to think he could justify or forget that he just killed a man.

"Tell me, Clara . . ."

I shuddered. _Why did the cops have to go and speak my name_?

"Should I take away these glasses? Would it have mattered if I killed this man? Would you have even noticed…?" He trailed off and I shook my head quickly. I was, after all, basically blind without them. "Ah so you see, I forced you to watch somebody die and watch me as I broke the life from him, even as he was about to take your life. And because of this you are free; it is a new world for you, Clara."

"Not a better world, never better."

"You will learn to adapt."

I snorted at this. _He thinks I will be around murder again_…

Then it hit me.

"Are… Are you going to kill me?"

Bane didn't answer; I huddled more into myself, legs wrapping around knees and bringing them tight to my chest.

"I won't go easily. I don't want to die." My words were betrayed by my defensive stance, but I didn't want anybody to think that this was what I wished.

"When do people ever wish to die?"

I knew the answer, even though it wasn't a question.

I motioned in the direction of his stony men. "They don't seem to hate the idea of death…"

Standing, Bane motioned wide with his arms, nearly blocking out the view of his men from me.

"They have a cause to die for, one which they _will_ eventually die for."

I couldn't comprehend how this man had so little understanding or respect of human life; he must have lived a horribly sad existence. And for that, I pitied him.

…

After continuing to ignore Bane for awhile, he eventually seemed to lose interest and went over to one of the only strapped in chairs on the plane. But for the next two hours he stared at me, and the entire time I kept my head turned and eyes averted. I had nothing to say to this man.

Finally, a noise penetrated the plane.

"Prepare for landing."

I shivered at the coldness in the pilot's tone; it was as if he hadn't just helped a mass murdering psychopath escape the FBI.

"Would you like us to dispose of the girl now?" The mercenary's voice brought both Bane's and my eyes to him, one of us looking in fright and the other stoic. When Bane didn't answer straight away I went into panic mode.

Scrambling up, I made a dash for anything to use as a weapon. Nobody tried to stop me. My hands closed over a piece of pipe and I stood with my back to the wall, hands holding the metal in what I hoped was a threatening manner.

"Just… Stay away!" My voice haltered slightly. I was disappointed in how scared it sounded. _Come on Clara, man up!_

After nobody moved, I relaxed slightly. Maybe they weren't going to rush me all at once. The creaking seat alerted me to Bane's movement, and that's when he turned his head towards me. I could see the amusement in his eyes.

"You threaten us with a pipe; what do you hope to achieve, small one?" He took a step towards me and considering how long his legs were, the step brought him considerably closer.

"_DON'T_!" Panting, my eyes darted frantically around the plane. It was then that I noticed it had stopped moving.

_ESCAPE!_

Without pause, I threw the pipe at Bane and by some miracle it slammed into his face and I heard a hiss escape him.

_MOVE!_

Scrambling towards the nose of the plane, I went for the nearest door. There was loud thumping behind me and I felt another burst of adrenaline. I reached the heavy metal opening and pulled frantically at the handle. I sent out a prayer when it actually started to open.

Then a hand slammed it shut again, a very large hand.

_FIGHT!_

Turning on the monster I feigned a kick with my knee, only his didn't go to block it like I assumed and instead of meeting an unprotected neck, his hand grabbed mine, instantly dwarfing it. The man's massive bulk almost made me falter, but I kept trying. Desperation panged at me as I screamed and this time did kick up with my knee. This time he did block it with his leg and I felt my knee crack slightly. I hardly noticed the pain though, but knew I had to change tactics.

_TRICK!_

Bane yanked on my still held fist and brought me closer; that's when I bit him. My teeth sank into the skin on his hand and I instantly tasted blood. Nearly gagging, I felt my head yanked backwards and his hand release mine. Taking my chance I darted under his arms and bolted towards his men, ignoring my aches. For once they seemed slightly confused as to what to do.

_STEAL!_

Using my knowledge of people I zoned in on the weak link. He was standing slightly apart from the other men, looking younger and less sure of himself. He backed away from me as I ran towards him, but in two steps I was in front of him. My hand made an arrow shape and I slammed it into his neck, instantly bruising it and cutting off some air. As he went downwards, I severed his gun from his shoulder and once I had it in my hands, it felt familiar. The second I spun around with it though, a shot rang out, and it was gone from my hands with a sharp pain. One of Bane's men had literally shot it out of my hands. _Okay, their aim is officially scary_. The boy I had injured kicked out with both legs, and even from his prone position he managed to slam them into my stomach.

_SURRENDER?_

I groaned in pain when I flew backwards and my back hit something jagged. I had a feeling it was the pipe from before. Having completely forgotten about Bane I reached for my last hope.

A boot pressed down on my chest from above, halting my actions and probably bruising me further. I glared up at the masked Merc, somehow furious and terrified at the same time. Blood from his hand dripped down and splattered on my cheek. I flinched at the wetness.

Tilting his head, Bane looked down at me as I lay placid and defeated. His boot crushed down harder and I knew he would kill me. Closing my eyes, I waited for the pain of my spine snapping and my heart literally breaking.

Instead, the weight was suddenly lifted.

"Pick up your weapon, small one."

_I prefer the nickname Girl_.

I did as he said and gripped the pipe as I stood up. Facing him, I was once again made aware of his massive height.

"You wish to attack me? Then do so." He let the invitation hang there and actually opened his arms wide. I hesitated once, and then struck out. With all my strength I went to slam it into Bane's face, my eyes catching his in my movement. His looked almost joyful, like I was somehow proving a point for him.

My hand released the pipe seconds before it would have hit his mask and it clattered to the floor noisily. His eyes changed slightly and he nodded to me, or so I thought.

Something heavy slammed into my already throbbing knee. I felt it pop out and I let out a bloodcurdling scream in response. I got a single glance at the out-of-place bone when I reeled forward; it was disgusting and wrong. But before I could hit the ground, I slammed into Bane's shoulder. He had leaned down and caught me, forcing me over it fireman-style. His hard arm closed over my thighs and I sobbed openly when the move shifted the bone in my knee. Flashes of white obscured my vision, but I forced my body to remain aware. It was agonizing and in my mind I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse. Then Bane's hand closed over it roughly, causing my back to arch at the pain.

There was a quick '_click!_', more pain, and then blessed darkness.

…

The sound of running water initially woke me. Opening my eyes, I took note of my position. I was prone and laying on something hard but giving. The running water that I'd heard was in fact a waterfall. Frowning, I tilted my head slightly and realized I was in a sewer or some sort of underground facility. Around me, men and women went about their jobs, like I wasn't even there. They hadn't yet noticed that I was awake. Shifting slightly, I glanced over the edge of the metal mesh floor I was laying over. It was suspended and apparently kept Bane's men out of the man-sized running drain bellow us. _If only I could drop down_.

"Ah, the traitor's daughter is awake."

Inwardly, I shook in fear at that jovial voice, but my outward appearance displayed none of it.

"Why aren't I dead?"

"Do you wish to be? If so just drop down off the edge, for only death awaits you there…"

Gulping, I moved back away from the edge, too scared to properly move my body, in case I shifted my knee.

"My friend, you are being very mean."

Startled, I watched as a woman stepped into the facility. Bane seemed to freeze and just stare at her. I couldn't blame him.

She was very beautiful, her face somehow elegant and kind all at once. She smiled down at me once, then her attention was on Bane. He opened his arms and she stepped into them, then leaned up and kissed him where his lips would have been. To anyone else it might have appeared sexual, but somehow I knew that while it was certainly love, it was not the particularly romantic kind—at least not for the woman. Bane however closed his eyes at the move, almost like he was wishing for his lips to actually be able to meet hers.

Turning, the woman knelt down in front of me; we were now on eye-level.

"Hello, my name is Miranda."

Bane's hand twitched slightly.

_Lie_.

"Clara."

She held out a hand and I shook it, falling to social niceties.

"Do you know why you are here, Clara?"

A grunt that might once have been a laugh escaped me.

"No."

"Because you hurt my friend, and I cannot let you die knowing that."

My mouth dropped open at that. I wasn't dead right now because I bit Bane!

"So what then?" My voice was getting smaller by the second as shock was setting in.

"I do not know. That is for Bane to decide."

_Oh great, so I'm dead then_.

As if sensing my inner thoughts, Miranda smiled and ran a hand down the side of my face.

"You're very unique, Clara. I hope he decides to keep you alive."

"Can… I mean, can't you make him?" I sounded both sad and hopeful, staring up at the woman through ratty hair and long-dried tears.

Shaking her head, Miranda rose. "I would never ask him to do something he didn't wish to."

I refused to cry as she dismissed me and turned back to Bane. They moved towards a desk holding several computers and seemed to forget me entirely.

Silently, I watched everything going on around me, it seemed like everybody was either emotionless or really into their work. My guess was both. I could almost smell the self-righteous aroma coming off of them all and it sickened me.

…

Sometime later, I heard Miranda speaking to Bane. They had moved closer to me as she made to leave.

"I must go my friend. Remember what I told you."

Somehow I knew they were talking about me. I had no desire to know what she meant though. I watched with sad detachment as my only hope walked out, leaving me alone with Bane and his men.

Rather than snap my neck, the man ignored me and walked back to his computers. I almost cried in relief that I wasn't yet dead, but forced myself to ignore him and continue watching his men. I was slowly learning what they were doing; the simple answer was expanding upwards. This probably meant there was something Bane wished to reach just above us, but that wasn't all his men were doing. Some were making ammo and others were going over blue charts that I couldn't quite make out. I figured they were probably blueprints or a design for something big.

I hardly noticed the cold around me until my body started shaking. And I only crossed my arms for warmth when my nipples poked out embarrassingly. Not a single person noticed my subtle movements though . . . except Bane.

"Are you cold?"

Startled that I hadn't noticed him hunched down next to me, I cursed my confused mind for having missed his movements.

"No."

If Bane were more human, he might have rolled his eyes at my blatant lie, but he didn't. He also didn't move and just continued staring at me. Finally, I broke.

"Yes, okay? I'm freezing and scared and wondering why you haven't killed me yet!"

Bane's eyes crinkled at the corners. It seemed like all I ever did was amuse him. But at least he moved.

Standing, Bane shrugged easily out of the warm woolen coat he was wearing. Then, leaning down, he literally dressed me in it, even carefully lifting me up for a moment, so my bottom was on its interior instead of the cold ground. I was instantly enveloped in his strange scent, a mixture of sweat and dirt. But I was warm; instinctively, I wrapped it closer around my body until I practically disappeared in it.

"Better, small one?"

I nodded and tried to look him in the eyes. Failing miserably, I instead glared at the ground. Gathering my courage, I finally looked at him and spoke.

"You're not going to kill me?"

Bane shook his head to indicate a no; I didn't even wait for the elation to overcome me.

"Then… Can I go?"

"Of course you can. I keep no prisoners here."

I looked towards the door and made to rise. My knee stopped me though, along with Bane's next words.

"However I cannot promise that my men will not decide to finish the job for me, once you are away from my protection… But if you can rise and leave this place, and then make it to the surface, you will then be free."

I fought back tears as I realized what he was saying. He had trapped me so I was dependant on him. Without being able to walk I was stuck here anyway, but with the threat of an undoubtedly painful death at the hands of his men…

His breathing was the only noise for a time, then my body relaxed itself and I sunk back onto one of the safety bars, giving up.

That was obviously what he was waiting for and as Bane reached for me, I let him wrap one arm around my back and the other just under my knee, both of us knowing that any movement would have hurt me anyway. I was unprepared for the actual pain though as he lifted me. My brain went fuzzy from the aching agony and I nearly passed out again. Instead, my head lolled onto his chest, or more like just below it, considering how huge his torso was.

Somehow I found my voice as Bane began walking, his men moving instantly out of the way.

"You don't play fair." Weak and sore I didn't bother censoring my mind. What more could he do to me?

"Life is never fair, small one. Better you learn that sooner rather than later."

I grunted but didn't respond. Beneath my head, Bane's body shook lightly in laughter.

_Great, he kept me to entertain him. Bloody brilliant_.

After a few more turns from him and me staring blankly at the grey sewage walls, I got bored.

"Why are you keeping me alive? I'm not special or worth anything as a ransom. In fact, most people would love to see me burnt at the stake. Sins of the father and all that…" My hands moved in emphasis of my words. I had barely noticed that Bane had stopped walking and opened a door.

"It isn't your time to die, Clara."

I shuddered when he said my name, but I accepted his answer.

I took careful note of the room he brought me to; it was on the smallish side and obviously made for a man who lived on the go. It struck me that this was his room.

All it had were a bare double bed mattress on the floor, some books stacked next to it, a large industrial fridge in the corner and another door leading off to a probable bathroom. Nervously, I clutched at Bane's vest as he lowered me onto the mattress, thankfully not into a laying down position. Satisfied I was positioned correctly, Bane let go of my leg carefully; a hiss of pain still slipped out.

Hunching down near my feet, Bane flicked back his coat and bared my knee to his gaze and mine. I was horrified at what met my eyes; the entirety of it was swollen beyond belief and was turning a sickly yellow colour before my eyes.

"Gods . . ." Whispered words escaped my mouth, but Bane didn't respond. Instead he moved over to the fridge and opened it.

He came back seconds later with a bottle of water–which he offered to me–and two bags of frozen vegetables. It was so strange to see these items in his hands that I almost laughed, but contained myself when he lightly pressed them to my injury. Shrieking, I tried to both push his hands away and scramble backwards, neither if which worked.

I was forced to sit there on a cold mattress as he tormented my knee. Sobbing, I barely noticed when the pain stopped and blessed numbness began.

Sighing, I sank back onto the makeshift bed, every part of me free of pain. Then I remembered the bottle of water and my thirst returned with a vengeance. Sitting back up, I ignored Bane's staring and grabbed the bottle; I consumed the entire thing in several rough pulls. Half of the water dripped down my front in my rush, but I didn't care.

Content, I dropped the bottle and enjoyed the lack of everything in my body, and then I looked at Bane. For once he wasn't looking at me; his gaze was lower. Nervously, I followed his gaze and yelped. In my rush for water, Bane's jacket had opened and my nightgown had dipped. _Everything _was standing to attention because of the cold water; I yanked the jacket around me. Bane's eyes met mine and as usual there was no emotion, and certainly no emotion. Hands shaking I made to take over the tending of my knee, which he let me do. Standing, the supposed monster crossed towards the door and opened it–never pausing in step–then closed it calmly behind him. He didn't bother to lock it.

**OK it's long cause I prob won't update for a while again, so enjoy thanks for all the favs and adds and reviews; let me know what you think is going to happen lol shall be amusing :P **

**Xoxo**

**Future**

**Thanks for Beta'ing ****Darkinyron**


	3. Chapter 3

Mind exhausted, I glared quietly at my knee, trying to will it to better health. Moving it slightly, I bit back a cry as the bone shifted uncomfortably.

"Stupid knee." I flopped back on the mattress with a huff. The thing felt like a rock . . . a big annoying rock.

After spending several unproductive minutes staring at the ceiling, and contemplating exactly how long it would take for my leg to heal–a bloody _long_ time–I tried standing up. Instantly, pain blossomed again, so I gritted my teeth and, using the wall, pulled my body into a standing position. _Okay… Now what?_

I glanced once at the door I knew to be open and dismissed it, instead aiming for the bathroom door. Luckily, I was able to hop without much pain, but then came the difficult part—seating myself.

As it turned out, the most awkward part wasn't sitting down-it was the quick realization that there was no toilet paper. I spent a second staring dumbly around the military-style bathroom; there was literally nothing to suggest that this room had ever been used. The bathroom's only significant contents were a towel and a massive shower, which Bane must have had made to fit his frame.

After drip drying and shuddering at the idea of it, I pulled myself back up and hobbled over to the sink. There was no mirror, which didn't surprise me. But thankfully the water ran clear and didn't smell like sewage. My knee started burning again, and I didn't fancy the idea of trying to walk while holding two iced vegetable packs to it. My hand shot out and grabbed the nearby towel, almost as if I expected Bane to magically pop out and beat me for touching his things. When nothing happened, I shook my head in annoyance at my cowardly manner and hopped back into the bedroom. By the time I got to the mattress, my uninjured leg had also started to throb. Quickly, I sat down and stared at the slightly damp cloth in my hands. Shrugging, I ripped it into two pieces, thanking God for cheap towels, and wrapped the ice packs around my knee.

"That seemed like a lot of effort."

Yelping, I scrambled back from the man in my room. I had seen him before; he was one of Bane's men. His accent pegged him as perhaps Middle Eastern, but then again I had always been horrible with recognizing specifics like that.

"How did you get in here?"

He flicked his head back towards the door. "I walked in."

"Oh… Okay, well how long have you been in here then?" I demanded.

"Since you walked into the bathroom. You do not notice much." He didn't sound amused or anything like that; it was like he was just stating a fact.

"Yeah, kidnapping can make your brain a little fuzzy…" There was an awkward silence on my part, in which I wondered what he wanted.

"Bane asked me to give these to you." He walked forward and placed a bag next to me. Instinctively, I flinched back from him. He might have been the one to dislocate my knee.

I didn't even glance at the bag, just at the mercenary.

"What's your name?"

His eyes refused to leave mine and I found myself forgetting what I had even asked for there was something very cold and impenetrable about this man.

"Barsad."

"Would you kill me if I tried to run?" I wasn't sure why I asked that, possibly because I wanted to see if there was anything human left in any of Bane's men.

There was no hesitation. "Yes."

_Inhumane . . ._

"Please leave me alone now." I didn't care if I sounded bossy or childish; something about facing the man who may kill me made me uneasy.

Barsad didn't even make a sound as he left, he was simply gone. Staring at the open door, I felt like my mind was slowly sinking away from my body, as if everything suddenly made sense. Bane meant life, at least for the moment.

Forcing back the urge to escape, I snapped up the bag Barsad had left for me. Inside were typical cargo pants, a plain white woman's t-shirt, and sensible underwear still attached to tags. Figuring he must have gotten the items from a female minion, I had no problem with wearing them. But then I spotted the hole in the shirt…surrounded by dried blood.

In the end I only decided to wear the 'death clothes' because I didn't fancy eventually trying to escape in only a nightgown.

Shrugging off my nightdress–and my makeshift ice holder–I ducked into the warmth the pants provided. It took me a little longer to get up the courage to slip into the shirt, but strutting/hobbling around only in a bra would not be a smart idea. When the cold in the room was still bothering me, I grabbed Bane's coat and wrapped it around my body again. I decided against ice-packing my knee again; it could probably use some air.

I sank down onto Bane's bed, thinking his books might provide some entertainment.

_Don Quixote… _I immediately placed that one to the side, for I knew my genre and that wasn't it. I took a quick glance at the rest of the covers and realized that Bane was very odd in his choices. He had everything from knights and monks to astronomy and mathematics. I visibly gagged at the last one, tossing it immediately to the other side of the bed. What happened to reading about super villains, science fiction, and fantasy? Hell at this point I would take a Jane Austen novel. Not the one about the abbey though…

I always hated having nothing to do. Even when I was young, I would forgo nap time in place of chores, or something worthwhile.

_That open door is taunting me…_

Hauling myself back up, I hopped over to the door. There were no guards or anything, just an empty concrete hall. With one hand on the wall I fought the urge to run away, and made my way down the hall. I passed five metal doors along the way, all of which were bolted shut.

"What are you doing?"

Screaming, I fell flat on my ass. Barsad was behind me.

"Jeesh!" With one hand over my erratic heart, I glared up at him. "I know you said you would kill me if I escaped, but did you have to try and scare me to death?"

He just stared down at me, one of his hands moved to the handgun on his side.

_Shit_.

"No, wait." Grunting with effort, I pulled myself back up. "I wasn't trying to escape, that was a joke…"

The gun was now in his hand.

"Take me to Bane; I just wanted to find something to do. I don't do well with smallish spaces and no gaming equipment to fill them."

Barsad tilted his head to the side, but apparently decided I was telling the truth, then put the gun away.

"This way."

Nodding frantically, I hobbled slowly along behind Barsad. I felt like every time I took a step, he moved five meters. When he did deign to look back I could only imagine what I looked like, panting from exertion and nearly collapsing.

I was leaning daintily on a wall when my feet were swept up. Squeaking, I grabbed a hold of Barsad's neck. He lifted me in his arms like I weighed nothing.

_Guess Bane's minions have to be buff_.

"You can put me down; I would have eventually made it."

The first real emotion I got from him was a disbelieving snort. _Great start_.

"By that time Bane would have returned already, found you in the corridor, and punished me for leaving you there."

This time I snorted.

"Why would he care?"

Barsad looked down at me once with something akin to pity in his eyes for a second.

"He looks after his belongings."

Stunned into silence, I didn't even notice the walls we passed and the quick turns. All I knew was that one second I was in a hallway, and the next I was back in the 'control room.' People actually glanced over as Barsad carried me; I refused to be embarrassed though, instead held my head high and glared at them.

He eventually took me towards the little nook I had seen Bane work from earlier and something told me I didn't want to know the purpose of those many screens. Surprisingly, I didn't notice Bane until he stood up from a makeshift cot in there. Startled, I looked down when I realized he was topless. There was something instantly terrifying about seeing that much naked shin, stretched over muscles that large.

"You use my men as horses now?"

Barsad stiffened and made to place me down on the ground.

"No, put her in here."

I shifted slightly when Bane's man moved into his little hideaway, but didn't bother struggling when he placed me on the cot.

"You may go now, Brother. I wish to have a discussion with your baggage."

Barsad walked out without a word. All strength seemed to leave me and I ducked my head under his stare.

"You will answer my question, small one. Why are you using my men?"

I gasped a few times before I thought of an answer.

"Your… Jacket." Hastily, I stood up on one foot and slipped the referenced jacket off, instantly wishing I hadn't. "I wanted to give it back, and say thank you for the new clothes."

When Bane didn't take the jacket from my hands, I pulled it close to my body again, almost needing the warmth. I glanced up and him and could actually see the anger in his eyes.

"I didn't use Barsad. I asked him to show me to you. And when he tried to, I couldn't walk quickly enough. So he kinda carried me."

"Hmmm."

I shivered at the mechanical voice.

"Why were you searching for me?"

"I was… bored." Hanging my head, I finally grasped how childish I sounded. "Sorry." My face twisted slightly. It struck me how I was already conforming to his wishes. Some weird survival instinct, I suppose.

When Bane didn't answer, my eyes flicked over his hand and I noticed the bite marks I had left in there.

"You should put something on that; mouths carry the most germs…" The skin looked all red and itchy; it amazed me that he didn't seem to notice it. Without thought, I grabbed his hand for a closer look. I had twisted it both ways before it occurred to me whose hand I was grabbing onto. I let it go with a gasp.

"Were you a nurse once, small one?" All anger seemed to have left the cyborg just to be replaced with amusement.

"No… but I've cleaned a lot of hospitals."

"Explain."

"Well, when the cops were looking for me, janitor positions were pretty much all I could apply for." I paused for a moment, but there was no way to avoid the coincidence coming out of my mouth. "But I got bored and once I was finished, I would read a lot of the posters on the wall. It was nothing special or particularly interesting, but it was better than doing nothing. And it helped that at every hospital I cleaned, they had the same damn posters…" I was ranting, and stopped immediately when Bane let out a small contemplative noise.

"You will fix this for me." I had no doubt that he meant his hand.

Bane turned for a second and came back with a standard 'first aid' kit; I gulped slightly when he handed it to me. Nodding, I sat on the bed again and opened the kit. Without thinking, I grabbed Bane's hand again and pulled him closer, then positioned his hand so I could properly clean my marks. Popping the lid off some clean water, I wondered how I had even managed to bite this deep into his hand without him feeling it. I glanced at his mask once-the tubes must be for delivering medication of some sort-_pain medication?_ Figuring now wouldn't be the best time to ask questions, I concentrated on my work.

Once the wound was cleaned, I grabbed the small antiseptic cream and splotched it on, trying to get inside of the teeth marks. Guilt creeping up on me, I quickly wrapped up the evidence of my violence, using a safety pin to hold it in place.

"All done!" I forgot for a moment who I was fixing, and smiled up at the masked Merc. I quickly averted my eyes when his met mine. Mumbling out another apology, I released his hand. Awkwardly, I gazed at the small hole in the wall of cloth, wishing I could just run out of it and back to his room. It was suddenly a lot less boring.

"How long were you on the run for, girl?"

I considered lying, but that would be pointless.

"Five years… but then I found Uncle F. Well, he found me."

"After your father was killed, I assume."

Snorting in amusement, I knew that Uncle F. wouldn't have helped me had Dad still been alive.

"Yeah. We both figured that the cops would stop searching for me, once Dad was killed. After all, they found who they wanted; what use could I be now?"

Bane sunk down onto a chair in front of me. He still towered above me, though I had no choice but to look him in the eye as we talked.

"It seems that the FBI agents still had a problem with you."

Sighing, I ran a hand through my short locks, they felt dirty and unwashed.

"My dad sold state secrets to the highest bidder, and he did it for a long time. I'm willing to bet that in those men's eyes, I was as accountable as him."

"Not to worry, my dear. I would never blame you for the acts of your father. He has paid his dues." There was a silence, then. "You wish for something to do around here?"

Quickly I nodded, before he changed his mind and kept me locked up until I could heal and escape.

"You will manage the doctoring of us," he added at my panicked look. "Nothing too serious, small one. Only what Gotham will throw at us, which is nothing we cannot handle." Bane said everything with such righteousness; I couldn't help but believe him, even if for only a moment.

"Oh… okay. Where is the, uhh, medical wing?" Wincing at how lame I sounded, I waited for him to direct me there.

"One has not yet been properly fitted; you shall be in charge of that."

Instantly balking at that, I tried to reason.

"But I haven't got anything with me, no supplies, no nothing."

Bane's eyes crinkled at the corners. _God, I hope that means he is smiling_.

"Tomorrow, Barsad shall take you to acquire everything you need. He seems to have developed a fondness for you."

_Wait . . ._

"What do you mean?"

Smiling again, Bane stood and I shivered slightly at his presence.

"He did not kill you when I sent him with items to your room."

I cringed slightly at this.

"You expected him to kill me?"

Bane didn't answer; he just leaned down and lifted me into his arms. I resisted the urge to grip onto him. Anybody that had muscles as ripped as his couldn't possibly find even me, heavy.

"Great… Are you taking me back to your room now?"

When I was in the Boss Man's arms, nobody seemed gutsy enough to look. We walked through them without incident, Bane choosing only to speak when we got to the cement hallway.

"For the time being it shall be our room, until such a time as I can trust you."

I dared a joke.

"So never…"

Annnnddd it was awkward for me again.

Bane didn't speak as he opened the bolted door to his room with one hand and moved us inside; it was just as I'd left it. I wiggled slightly to express my desire to hop down, but he refused to let me go until we got to the bed. Gently, he placed me on the mattress. My nightgown and robe were nearby; I snatched them up and stuffed them immediately under the mattress. I shivered slightly. Realizing I was still holding Bane's jacket, I slipped it around me similar to how I would a blanket. It occurred to me that he might get cold.

"Sorry, do you want your jacket now? It's freezing down here."

Bane shook his head, and then moved into the bathroom. I heard the distinctive noise of a shower going and blushed slightly, wanting to give him as much privacy and room as possible; I shifted up to the far side of the mattress and turned my back to everything.

Unsure of how long I laid there, I just listened to the occasional sound of water in pipes and tried to sleep. Eventually though the shower shut off. There was a couple of things being moved around and then the distinctive noise of a belt buckle and zipper.

Bane's heavy footsteps came back into the room and paused at the end of the mattress. There was the clicking of something and the lights went off. Despite myself, I whimpered slightly and burrowed further into his jacket, practically hugging the wall when Bane's huge figure finally laid down.

Abruptly, a hand gripped my hip and pulled me so I was facing the giant; I knew he could see how scared I was. I couldn't even see the man through the dark, but somehow knew he was watching me in perfect clarity.

"You need not be so afraid, small one. Rape holds no value unless it teaches a lesson, or evolves a person's instincts." A hand brushed back my hair, I jerked slightly. "Something tells me, it would only break you."

Somehow I found my voice.

"Isn't that what you want? You want to burn Gotham. Why not me along with it?"

A hand gently rolled me back over so my back was to my fear. But instead of the mattress my head was cushioned on a hard bicep, whereas my side was tucked into his.

"Gotham's reckoning will come. You however, will survive."

I didn't answer, just absorbed his comment and knowing it to be the truth. No matter what happened, I probably would survive. I, unlike Gotham, have known true suffering. I could cope, but it would burn and in the end I would be stuck right where I deserved to be— in Hell.


	4. Chapter 4

"You cannot be serious." Dumbfounded, I stared at the building Barsad had brought me to; it was an elderly folk's home.

Of course the man didn't answer; he was as frustrating as Bane had been this morning. The Boss Man had literally kicked me in the stomach to wake me, and then took great pleasure in announcing that, "his men do not lay about in idle leisure."

I, of course, was stupid enough to point out that I was hardly one of his men and even if I were, I would quickly join a union and demand a sleeping-in clause past 5 am. This earned me a harder kick, and when I had finally stopped coughing, Bane was gone.

"You should not daydream; it leaves you weak for attack." I jumped at the sound of my guard's voice; his eyes beneath thick brows were as impassive as ever.

"From who?" I opened my arms wide. "No sane person is up at this hour."

"How do you know Bane did not send me out here to kill and then dispose of you?"

My body language emitted a flicker of fear.

"Did he?"

"No."

Growling under my breath, I took another look around the street. But it was like it had been for the entire SUV ride here. Nobody who could assist me was anything near awake. I had been blindfolded as I was dragged out of Bane's underground lair; Barsad finally removed it after five minutes of driving. Although in my mind, it wouldn't matter if I did know where the lair was, for who the hell could I tell? I was technically still an unjustly wanted woman after all.

"Why are we stealing from old people? Surely a hospital would be better?"

"Bane's orders."

"Of course." Grunting slightly, I walked towards the doors, my knee not causing me enough pain–yet–to ask for help.

Barsad followed me; he looked quite strange entering the home, considering he was decked out in almost full mercenary gear.

The building smelt as all hospital-like places do, the strong scent of death only overpowered by the slightly thicker odour of disinfectant. This time of the morning there was only one lady at reception. Her bright red hair and lips were a horrible contrast of each other. She frowned in annoyance at me, but to Barsad she gave one of the come-hither looks I had never bothered to excel at.

"Can I help you and your brother?" She had a pen in her mouth, the tip of which she licked lightly, her eyes never leaving my guard.

_Oh for crying out loud, be more obvious_.

"Yes. We are here to visit our mother. She is very sick you see, and…"

Making a horrified noise, Lady Lips ran around the desk and latched onto Barsad. It was then I noticed that he was actually, somehow, making tears come out of his eyes. And damn if he didn't pull it off well.

"Oh you poor dear, come and sit with me. Your sister can look in on your mother."

Nodding slightly, Barsad allowed himself to be directed towards the waiting room. On his way past he slipped me the gym bag containing other gym bags. Lady Lips was too busy fussing over his, ahem, _sensitive nature_ to notice.

Shaking my head at his performance, I walked down one of the many hallways. Shockingly, it didn't take me very long to find what I was looking for—a door labeled 'Supplies.'

Once inside, I immediately set to work. I had about five gym bags and enough stuff to fill a truck. I carefully went through the rows, marking in my mind where the particularly important stuff was. For the most part, I chose a mixture of bandages and sterile stitching packs; it was the medicine that I was stumped at.

_Why can't they just have named them for what they do? Something like, 'fixes infections' or 'powerful painkiller' would make my job so much easier right now. _

In the end I just tossed as many important looking items into my bags as I could. _If Bane doesn't like it, he can hire a real doctor. _

Pulling three of the bags towards the door, I poked my head out before continuing on. Knee starting to ache, I barely made it to the front door with my load. I was already dreading having to make the trip again, but I did, until I literally did collapse when those bags were in position. Panting, I pulled up my cargos; the movement seemed to have aggravated my knee even more, for it was red and literally throbbing.

"Are you done?"

Yelping, I dropped my pant leg and glared at Barsad, then I noticed the lack of a receptionist.

"What did you do to her?" Voice rising, I was fully prepared to save her from whatever torture device the man had. Barsad actually chuckled, _CHUCKLED!_

Then leaning down he evenly distributed the bags over his shoulders, leaving his arms free.

"Come here." He meant for me to allow him to carry me.

Stubbornly, I crossed my arms, mouth set in my long dead rich girl sulk.

Rolling his eyes, Barsad leaned down and scooped me up. Struggling, I tried to go towards the door where he had been taken through by Lady Lips.

"Stop struggling, the receptionist is fine. She is simply recovering."

Clueless, I glared up at him. Walking out the door Barsad was apparently done talking.

"Well, what do you mean 'recovering'?"

He smirked slightly and I understood.

"Wait, you had sex with her? But why? I mean she might have something or you might… Oh my God, did you infect her with some weird sex disease?" If I had really concentrated on my words, I may have noticed how nonsensical they were. But I was too busy picturing that poor woman, and how she would eventually die alone in a hospital covered in sex boils. Again, Barsad chuckled; we had reached the SUV and I opened the door for him out of habit.

"I shall have to tell Bane of this, you believing that he will bring Gotham to its knees through 'weird sex diseases'."

Apparently he could read my mind, because I was about to suggest that very plan.

Blushing, I helped Barsad put me in the seat, and by help I mean allowed him to buckle my seatbelt. Impassive once again, he tossed the bags into the back of the large car and walked around to the driver's seat. Seconds later, we were away.

The entire trip was spent in silence. I was too embarrassed about my imagination running amok and Barsad was, well, Barsad.

I was snapped from my mindless musing when a black bag was yanked over my head.

"Jeesh, a little warning next time." My words were muffled, but Barsad probably got the message. Like clockwork we arrived five minutes later; my guard turning off the car and opening the door seemed to echo in the bag. It took a split second for him to reach my side, bundle me up, and continue on walking. Rather than carry me bridal style, like usual, Barsad hefted me over his shoulder. I wondered briefly on this, but dismissed it when the movement snapped my leg.

"Bring the bags in, and then destroy the car." He successfully brought my attention away from the pain in my leg; several more of Bane's men were standing at attention near the car.

I watched them for a second; they literally started dousing the car in petrol. My mind gaped at how much I could sell and SUV for. The money I could get for it would set me up for a few months, at least. _Old habits die hard._

I was thumped around a bit on his shoulder and knew we were moving. Grumbling slightly in pain, I settled in for an annoying trip.

Barsad seemed to take even longer to get back, but that might have been because I was mentally counting the increasing pain my leg was experiencing. Suffice to say, the agony was well above average. The only indication I got that we had arrived was the sudden thumping down of my body onto a cot-like bed.

The bag was ripped off of my head; I jumped slightly when a recognizable metal mouth was the first thing I saw.

"Were you successful, Brother?" I was slightly offended that Bane would ask my guard that, especially considering he was the one who got laid and I was the one who did all the work. I zoned out on Barsad's answer and finally looked around the room I had been brought to. It was how I would have imagined a hospital wing from World War II to look like; its only contents were cold cots and walls with dull colours. You would have to be blind to heal in this dismal place. It took me a second to realize that I had spoken aloud; Bane was staring at me and Barsad actually took a step back.

"You think this room is below you?"

Startled, I stammered over my words. "Well, no, I mean, it's just very ordinary is all…" Drowning myself out, I stared at the floor; clicking my knuckles nervously.

"It will be your job to make this place more acceptable, small one. I shall expect a jovial room by the time you are done. You shall finish it today and pray to your God that it meets my now elated expectation."

"B-but my knee! How can you expect me to work wonders when I cannot even walk?" I didn't mean to sound pathetic or selfish. I meant to only state a fact.

Bane's hand snapped towards my knee and clamped down; crying out, I instinctively tried to move away.

"You should be careful of what you speak Clara; I have been kind thus far, but even my patience has its limits." He released my knee; I had no doubt that he could have broken it had he wanted to. "I have ensured you have medicine. You shall be your own first patient."

Hand stuffed in his vest, Bane stared down at me awaiting a response. I nodded, almost frantic in my need to get rid of him.

"Very good." His chipper voice set my teeth on edge and sent fear throughout me. It was an interesting combination. Bane walked from the room, his every step measured and loud. Barsad followed after plunking the bags down on one of the other cots.

…

After they left, I literally flopped back onto the bed. With my teeth gritted, I tried to ignore everything wrong with my body at the moment. But after about five minutes of blatant denial, I hobbled over to the medicine bags. Emptying them all onto the bed at once wasn't a bright move, but then again I never claimed to be a genius. The bandages almost all slipped off of the cot and onto the ground; I made a note to pick them up later. I grabbed the first packet of pills and considering we robbed an old folks home, it came as no surprise that the tablets were pain killers.

Popping about three, I ignored my knee and shoved the rest of the medicine onto the floor. I then settled myself in the middle of the mess, and started sorting the things nearest to me. For hours I worked on putting everything into four piles—bandages, disinfectants, stitching stuff, liquid medicine, and pills. I soon had a shitload of pills piled up around me.

Finally finished sorting, I pulled myself up and tried to figure out where to put everything. Settling on some old fashioned metal cupboards, I gave every section its own ugly green compartment. Whistling, I turned to stare at the rest of the room. It really was bland, but what the heck was I supposed to do about that considering I didn't exactly have any paint or crayons for that matter? Dejected again, I walked over to the nearest cot; even the pillows were flat. _He is going to kill me, literally_.

…

I heard him before he actually arrived, but then he couldn't really be quiet considering the size of him. Rather than walk in alone though, Bane had two men I had never seen before besides him and each were leading in two other men who had black bags over their heads. I could distinctly hear weeping from one of them. I hopped up without thought, everything in me just wanting to help them.

"Ah, I see you have decided to take a rest from your work." Bane glanced around the room and I knew what he was seeing—absolutely nothing different. "Perhaps you did not understand me, small one? I wished for this to be a haven for my men to heal in."

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" I could feel panic taking hold, and lowered my tone so as not to anger the metal monster. "I organized the medicine, but without proper tools, how can I make this place nice?" My eyes flickered back to the constrained men. "Why are those men here?"

Bane chose to ignore my question.

"Very well, small one. Do you consider this 'hospital' adequate to heal somebody correctly?" His tone mocked me and I winced slightly in shame.

It took me a moment before I nodded. There wasn't even a warning as Bane grabbed one of the bagged men's arms, and crushed it between his fingers. All I heard was a snap, followed by a sickening scream.

Gasping, I jumped forward. One of Bane's men raised a gun at me; I froze instantly, but didn't take my eyes off the screaming man.

"You rush forward, so ready to protect or help…" Bane stood behind the other bagged man, a gun in his hand. I knew my head was shaking, but no words made their way past my lips. I was too horrified. He didn't even look as he fired the gun at the captive; I closed my eyes to his screams. Bane's voice forced them open again.

"To be fair, a broken arm hardly measures up to a bullet wound."

I found my voice when Bane aimed the gun at the individual with the newly fractured arm.

"Stop, please… I'll do anything! Just stop!" Screaming out the last part, my gaze met Bane's. He stared at me impassively, but lowered the gun and nodded his head. I nearly cried in relief and horror; I had just struck a deal with the Devil.

Bane then addressed his men. "Put these men on the cots; let us see how well the faux doctor performs."

I felt like pleading again, never had I done anything close to healing bones or gunshot wounds, but knowing Bane, it would make no difference. This was another test, one I would have to pass or fail...

…

Stealing myself, I winced as the agony-infused men were moved onto the cots, without a care for their health.

"Leave us."

I dreaded the idea that Bane would stay, but knew he would when he ordered only his men to leave. When we were alone he spoke again, having to raise his voice slightly over the moans of his victims.

"Begin, Clara."

Nodding tightly, I bolted over to the cabinets; the adrenaline in my body helping me to ignore my own pain and focus on the task.

_Think, what is the first thing to do to a bullet wound_? Considering my expertise went as far as TV shows, movies, and the posters at hospitals; it was suffice to say that this would be very dodgy.

"Okay." Reaching out, I grabbed sealed containers of water and antibacterial stuff –I was literally going by the first word I could read on the packets –then I gathered the surgical tools, gloves, and everything I would need to close the wound. On a side note, I grabbed two needles and a small bottle with the word 'morphine' on it. With stuff nearly spilling from my arms, I shoved it all onto a cot near the men. Then came the gloves. I snapped them on in a very Dr Evil manner. I was slightly glad that the bags were still on the men's faces. It made it far easier for me to stick a needle of morphine into them. The men didn't totally pass out like I would have preferred, but they seemed to quiet down.

I could hear Bane breathing in the corner, but drowned him out as I ripped open the packet of surgical instruments. Thankfully, a pair of scissors spilled out and I was able to cut through the man's pants; the bullet wound was in his upper thigh.

Once the pants were gone, I nearly gagged. A gunshot wound on a movie didn't exactly look the same as one in real life; it was smaller to begin with, but had far more blood flowing out of it then I was prepared for. Panting softly, I poured some disinfecting liquid over the wound; the man moaned slightly at this and I looked at his bagged head in fear for a moment.

I forced my eyes back to his leg. Grabbing a pair of long thin pincers, I pressed lightly on the wound; satisfied when he didn't make a pained noise, I slowly moved them inside of it. The man reared up with a shout and I jumped back in fright, dropping the pincers; the man then seemed to pass out. Edging forward slowly, I took the pincers back into my hand and quickly moved back to the wound. It was bleeding quite heavily, but I was able to clearly see the hole and inserted the ends of the pincers again. This time the man only moaned slightly; I continued searching for the bullet. Barely holding back my terror; I felt instant relief when I felt metal hit metal. Opening the pincers, I gripped it around the bullet and began pulling it out. This part was shockingly easy, and the bullet was soon out of the patient. Sadly, the bleeding hadn't stopped. Slightly frantic, I dropped the pincers–with the bullet–onto the floor without care. Rushing towards my table of goodies, I grabbed one of the only things I could–a pillow.

Begging him mentally for forgiveness, I pressed the pillow onto the wound; promising myself I would give this man all of my antibiotics if he survived.

After about five minutes I raised the pillow; satisfied with the level of bleeding, I grabbed one of the small stitching kits. I winced slightly at the sharp hook-shaped needle, but figured a traditional straight needle probably wouldn't work.

"If only they had sewing machines for this." Mumbling under my breath, I threaded the thick needle and snipped it off at the end. Leaning down near the wound; I braced myself before pressing it through his skin. It sickened me how easily I could pierce it, well, that and the little 'pop' noise it made. Shuddering, I brought it all the way through and repeated. I felt almost like I was on running on automatic as I neatly sewed through the man's skin; vaguely I knew I was going into some sort of shock, but I couldn't allow myself to because I still had another man to help. Finally, I finished stitching him up. I followed this with an application of antibacterial liquid onto the wound and then a quick bandage up.

Mostly satisfied, I moved to my next patient.

I felt slowly around his arm to begin with; it felt like Bane had not shattered the bone, only snapped it cleanly in one place. Unsure though, I glanced up at the man in question.

"Did you completely shatter or just fracture his arm?" Bane looked at me in surprise for a moment, as if he had expected me to melt down. The truth was that this crisis had given me a little more bravery.

"The man's arm is merely broken."

I nodded and grabbed what I needed; at this moment that was a sling and some strong bandages in lieu of plaster. Carefully, I wrapped up the man's arm, applying pressure when I thought there should be some and releasing it in some parts. Praying I had done it correctly, I slipped the sling around his bagged neck and placed his arm into position.

The second that was finished, I nearly fell on the floor. Instead though, I hobbled over to my bed of equipment and started packing it away. In my mind, it was clean or go into an emotional meltdown. The entire time Bane watched me. Everything was silent except his breathing and the occasional moans from my poor patients. Once done, I thought I had everything under control, and then I looked down at my arms. Blood was coating them, like a grotesque paint-job gone horribly wrong. Never mind the gloves, they hadn't helped at all.

"Fuck." I fell to the ground, mumbling to myself about wanting to be clean again. Bane's boot covered feet came into the edge of my vision; his knees buckled slightly as he leaned down to pick me up. Without effort he lifted me and walked towards the door, and that was when I panicked.

"No!"

He stopped.

"I have to stay with them and make sure they are okay. Otherwise you will kill them…" I leaned up and grabbed the sides of Bane's head, my eyes staring at him intently. "They can't die."

Only when Bane's head nodded in my hand did I speak again. "Promise?"

Something entered his eyes for a moment that I couldn't understand, but he nodded under my hands again.

Satisfied, I released him; huddling down, I gripped my bloody hands around the wool in his coat, enjoying the texture.

**Ok much appreciation to Beta Darkinyron :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**I won't lie, I enjoyed writing this chapter :D sorry it took me awhile, I got into Guild Wars 2 and pretty much lost sight of the world haha **

Much to our surprise, I didn't fall asleep as Bane carried me. My mind was numb but fully functioning; it had been a long time since I had felt so calm.

"Where are you taking me?"

Bane didn't pause in his steps.

"To my room. You need rest."

My dull gaze centred on my bloody arms. "I want to shower."

Bane didn't reply. _Surly he would allow me something that basic? _

We arrived at his room quickly. Calmly, Bane stepped into the bathroom and shut the door; he set me down on the sink countertop. Pulling my limp face up to his, Bane clicked his fingers in front of my eyes; I flinched and he seemed satisfied with that reaction.

"You are in shock."

_No shit__,__ Sherlock_.

If I hadn't been afraid of a backhand, I might have rolled my eyes. I settled for an exasperated glare.

"Can I please shower now?" Even to me, my voice sounded dull; it annoyed me that my brain felt fine but my body refused to comply with my head.

Bane nodded and his hand gripped the bottom of my shirt; it tore easily and I gasped in fright, hands covering all essentials and mind fully back in my own control.

"What the hell!" I grabbed the tattered shirt, trying to pull it back onto my body.

"Have I not already told you that rape without purpose is pointless?"

Spluttering, I hopped off of the sink, actually pushing him out of the way in fury. He had effectively woken me up from my stupor.

"Look, while I appreciate your clever and definitely not scary method of undressing women . . . I…Don't…Need…Your…Help." Punctuating each word with a finger poke to his brick chest, I prayed he would just listen and leave me be. I was literally on my last leg.

"Very well then; undress."

Hooking his hands into his vest, Bane stared me down.

_Fine, he wants a naked__,__ bloody slave…_ I roughly started ripping my clothes off of me, only hesitating slightly with my bra and undies. Thanks to crappy living for the past few years, I was sadly used to communal showers, even in front of men.

Limping over to the shower, I quickly figured out the hot from cold and created a nice steamy shower. Stepping in, I slammed the glass door to it; the steam from the water created a barely-sufficing barrier between Bane's eyes and my body; sometimes I was grateful to have watched 'Family Guy'.

_Con…den…sation__._

I giggled slightly. Even in my head the word was said slowly and in an English accent.

There was a movement in the corner of my eye; I glanced upwards expecting to see the Boss Man furious, instead he had only shifted positions. Shrugging slightly, I grabbed the bar of soap and started cleaning off the blood. My mind went blank for a moment as the blood went spinning down the drain; I shook it off. It was slightly annoying that he didn't have any shampoo, but then considering his utter lack of hair, it didn't come as a great shock to me. So instead I roughly rubbed the soap through my hair, it got caught in some places and hurt like a bitch; thankfully I survived. For a moment I enjoyed the heat of the water on my skin, it reminded me of slightly less evil times. My peace was ruined when the door was yanked open; gasping, I covered my bits and glared at Bane through my cropped hair. I knew what I must look like—slightly rounded face, decent cheek bones, and a body that would never launch a thousand ships… and all of that soaked with water; _lovely_.

"Come, I have no time to wait for you to finish."

"B…but I'm still soa—"

Bane took one look at the soap on me and shoved me under the spray; he forcefully pointed my head towards the spray. I spluttered and struggled like a mad woman for a moment, then accepted it as inevitable; Bane didn't seem to comprehend the word 'no.'

I was pulled out of the shower as briskly as I was shoved into it. Blinded slightly, I held my hands out in front of me. A towel was shoved into them, but before I could dry myself, Bane snatched it back and started drying me. This time I did squirm for longer than a minute; I looked down at the top of Bane's head and kicked up at him. Grabbing my leg he pushed it into an open position and ran the towel up it; there was nothing sensual in the movement, but I still tried to shove it away with my hands.

_SLAP!_

Stunned for a moment, it took me a bit to register the burning pain in my backside. When I finally did, Bane was already and impersonally drying me off between my legs. I took a step back from him warily, but I was under no illusions. I only managed that step because he let me. His cold eyes stared up at mine, and without a word he handed me the towel and walked towards the door.

"You will finish, small one. And remember that every action will have a reaction."

And he was gone.

For a moment, I stared at the door, trying to process this new and fundamental change in our relationship. Bane had never punished me, and I had—in the few days of being here—given him many reasons to; even I could admit to that. I turned my head and stared at my backside using the mirror; there was a large red mark on it. Wincing slightly, I patted it gently with the towel; Bane hadn't gotten so far as to towel it dry for me.

_Thank __G__od_.

Shuddering and turning back, I finished off with the rest and reluctantly pulled on my old smelly clothes. Taking a small sniff, I decided that my nightgown was actually preferable to the pong of blood and my own sweat.

It took me a moment to get the courage up to go open the door; hand shaking slightly, I finally did. Sticking my head out, I almost retreated back into the safety of the bathroom when I noticed Bane was currently sitting on the mattress.

"Come in."

My nerves were still shot, so I instantly did what he said. Standing in front of the man, I was brought to the shocking realization that even with him seated on the ground, he was still a frightening and tall figure.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Go where?"

Bane started to stand; I automatically backed off to give him room to do so and to put some distance between us. He didn't fail to notice this; he was like the ever-observant giant. He took a deliberate step forward; I knew it was a test, but I stepped back anyway.

"Are you now frightened of me, small one? Is a little tap enough to scare you into submission?" He sounded both happy and arrogant; I frowned.

"N…No"

His eyes crinkled at the sides; I knew he was smiling.

"Very good; now, make me believe it."

Hesitant for only a moment, I gathered my courage and took a step forward. My neck hurt from the elevation and my knee ached from the movement, but I kept my gaze strong and impersonal.

"Hmm…" He hunched down a small amount, and picked me up into his arms.

Squeaking slightly, I quickly accepted the fact that I couldn't walk and therefore probably wouldn't win the argument to be let down, anyway.

As we walked through the door, he happily told me.

"That was much more believable."

_Brilliant__._

Hunched down on the cot in Bane's office or lair-thingy, I looked at the back of Bane's head. I had been staring at the scars on the back of it for about an hour now, and fascinating as it was, I was starting to feel some of my fire return to me. Gradually, I allowed myself to think about those poor men he had hurt, and then his forcing of me to fix them.

"You're an arsehole."

I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late. Everything around us seemed to freeze; it seemed that everybody had heard my little word vomit.

Bane's back tightened and he turned to look at me; it was like this movement woke our audience up and they quickly went back to work.

"I would be careful Clara; words can be a sharp weapon."

I gulped slightly, but knew that continuing was my best option to help myself.

"I only meant, well, that you're an arsehole."

Before he could slam me into a wall, or something equally horrible; I continued.

"You purposely injure two men, just so you could see me fail. And yeah, I think I surprised both of us when the men didn't die; to be honest, I am just proud that I managed not to pass out and add to your growing hospital intake." Somebody near snorted in amusement, but managed to smother it with a cough.

"Then you ensure to embarrass me by standing by and not letting me shower in privacy, even though we both know I am hardly the suicidal type." I took in a deep breath, already knowing that this next part would get me in trouble.

"To top it all off, you insisted on drying me, for reasons I can only fathom upon… Although my guess would be both subjugation and humiliation; that or you have some very big boundary issues." There was silence; then a very loud creak as Bane stood from his chair.

He barked out a name, "Barsad."

Immediately the man was by his side; I jumped slightly in fright, my nerves now truly wrung out.

"Bring me one of the orphan boys."

Sucking in a breath, I stared at Barsad. He didn't glance at me, simply went to do Bane's bidding. The air was tight around us while we waited; I hardly noticed. My mind was darting through possible scenarios and outcomes—none were good.

Too soon, Barsad arrived back; walking with him was a young boy. Tearing up slightly at the dirty and emaciated look of him, I had to force myself not to immediately run to him.

Bane dismissed Barsad with a slight finger movement; the emotionless bastard still wouldn't look at me as he left.

The monster's huge form hunched down in front of the boy and moved him slightly; his youthful face now stared at mine.

"Do you know why you are here, boy?"

Shaking slightly the boy shook his head, then in an act of bravery straightened his shoulders and spoke.

"No, boss. Mr. Barsad just ordered me to come. I follow orders." It sickened me that Bane had somehow instilled utter faith in followers. Even this young, this child should be playing, not warring.

"How old are you?"

The kid smiled for a moment, then answered proudly.

"Nine."

At this I broke.

"No." The cry ripped from me; I stumbled forward and grabbed the boy's shoulders, pulling him behind me.

"Please… Just don't."

Bane knew what I meant, but he still stood in a successful attempt to intimidate me. My feet took a step back, shoving the boy with me. He had the good sense to realize something was wrong and so stayed quite.

"Boy, come here."

My grip on the child wasn't good enough and he quickly escaped and went immediately over to Bane.

"No."

My forward motion was stayed this time by a massive arm holding me in place without effort. Desperately, I lashed out at Bane, hoping to divert his attention enough for him to forget the boy. He didn't.

Holding me steady around the waist, he reached down and moved his hand around the child's neck.

"I'm sorry. Please, I won't call you out on anything ever again."

Bane immediately removed his hand; I slumped in relief. Hardly even noticing that Bane was practically holding me up, and I was pressed solidly against his side. The hand that had threatened moments ago slowly brought my chin up.

"Do you understand now, small one? I could harm anything, and it would be your doing. Do not test me again." With that, he dropped me to the ground. I landed with a thud, which I barely felt. He moved away from me and I found the strength to speak.

"Would you have done it? Killed a child to teach me a lesson?"

"I have done far worse, for less gain."

He left, I presumed to return the hero-worshiping child. I laid my head on the ground and didn't move. Exhaustion slowly crept in and I let my brain just shut down.

**Cheers to Beta Darkinyron, marvelous help and also, turns out this story has a fair amount of followers so THANKS SO MUCH GUYS! (happy non-sarcastic yelling, I promise) anyway, review cause I'm a review ho. **

**Xoxo**

**Future**


	6. Chapter 6

_Two Weeks Later_

Growling, I flung the bandages across the room. It had been two weeks since Bane had showed me his true colours, two insufferably boring weeks of constant repetition.

**Wake up**

**Go to ward **

**Fix his workers **

**Go to bed**

**Pretend to be asleep when Bane returns **

**Hours later****,**** finally sleep**

I was too frightened to say a word out of place around the monster anymore; my usual sarcastic and honest nature had been slammed down... Hidden.

Thankfully Barsad had been issued as my 'protection;' we had become almost friendly since the incident with the orphan. He had been the one to eventually peel me off the floor (despite Bane's orders), and he seemed to be the only one willing to put up with my usual attitude.

"Bad day?"

I glared over at the man in question. _Yes__,__ it has been a bad day, not a single bloody person got injured_.

"Just bored… Would you stop me if I tried to escape?"

I had asked him this question every day since Bane had left me alone. His answer was always the same.

"Yes." Flat out, no questions asked.

Grinning, I tossed my last bandage packet at him; he caught it with a smirk.

"Bastard."

For a second his face became solemn. "You won't try to escape, now that your knee is healed."

"Na," I hopped onto one of the cabinets. "I mean, you would kill me outright, but Bane's other men." I faked a shudder, "oh the things they want to do."

The sad thing was that I was right; ever since the orphan day, many of Bane's more… dedicated men, had taken it upon themselves to catch me alone and teach me a lesson. So far the only reason they had failed, was that I followed my routine to a pinch. That and Barsad watching me constantly seemed to put them off.

"They will not harm you like that Clara, it is a bad act."

Barsad was strange and to the point, but I couldn't argue with him. Rape was a very 'bad act.' Unfortunately he had more faith in his men than me; you wouldn't catch me alone in a room with them.

"What do you do for fun, Barsad? Besides the whole brooding man act."

Shrugging he moved towards the supply cabinet, taking a quick glance inside. He turned to me with a smirk.

"Well, we could use some more supplies… I believe I know a place."

I rolled my eyes, "You wanna bang that receptionist again, huh?" He didn't even need to answer, I could tell by the obvious grabbing of my arm and pulling me from the room.

"You know," I grunted uncomfortably as he dragged me to an unknown location. "I don't think you spreading your 'love' counts as entertaining for me."

"A trip out for me, means a trip out for you Clara. Would you not enjoy seeing the sun?"

He was right, I hadn't seen the sun in what felt like an age. But I remained silent as he continued threading us through the sewer undergrounds. I quickly figured out where we were going though; my body paused and forced Barsads own halt.

"You're going to ask Bane?"

"Of course, I cannot simply leave without checking."

I snorted at this, choosing to cross my arms in a stubborn displace of bravery.

"I do _not _want to spend any time around that monster." I shifted uncomfortably, "Last time it didn't end so well."

"The boy lived." Barsad stated the obvious.

"That hardly matters. The point is, I cannot seem to keep my mouth shut around him, so it would be better if I were to avoid him. Safer, anyway," I turned around. "I'm going back to the ward."

Barsad gripped my arm, softer than one would have expected considering his choice of profession.

"You cannot fear him forever, Clara. Eventually you must face him, even if it is only to prove to yourself that you can."

I knew he was right, but knowing something and doing it were two very different things. Unfortunately, I knew one thing well enough…

"You're going to make me come with you to Bane, aren't you?"

Barsad grabbed my hand and continued on his way. _Stupid, annoying, pig-headed bastard_. Despite myself though, there was a small fond smile in the corner of my mouth. Something about Barsads unwillingness to give up on me was endearing.

Soon enough we arrived at Bane's lair and my nerves returned tenfold. As always, people were moving around in a rush. The second I was brought in, eyes centred on me, some in amusement but most with thinly veiled hatred. But even with all the hostility, I couldn't help but acknowledge their hard work; the business of extending the lair upwards had moved along quite a bit.

"Come."

A yanking hand brought me forward. Barsad's face was emotionless, but I could feel the tension in his hand. Like he expected the entire room to revolt and kill me, all because I mouthed off to their 'god.' Like always, I could sense that Bane was present before I saw him; the calm in the room was the rain before the thunderstorm. _Bane is a fucking huge thunderstorm_…

"So the Rabbit has left her hole." Bane straightened from his work and stared down at me. His eyes centred for a second on Barsad and my clasped hands. I had to give my 'guard' credit; he didn't flinch at all when my hand tightened too painfully at Bane's appraisal.

"Clara requires more supplies for the ward."

Barsad finally deemed it appropriate to release my hand; he took a step forward. Bane's expression was as unreadable as always. I took a step back and looked at the ground when he focused on me.

"You will gather these supplies yourself brother. Clara, it is time you see what we do here."

_For the love of god, don't say it_.

"Why?" _S__hit_. "I…I won't be staying here long enough to actually be affected by what you're doing. Not to mention I am hardly here willingly anyway." I droned out softly, wise enough to shut up at the worried glared Barsad sent my way.

Bane chuckled, "You are so certain of this, small one?"

He walked forward and trapped me against the side of his little alcove. I would rather jump over it then touch him.

"Yes."

"What is it about Gotham that you find so worth saving? The entire world turned their back on you, a mere twenty year old child." There was nothing in his strange voice that asked for honesty. I could have lied, but that wasn't me.

"It's not what I find in Gotham, per say, it's the people." I paused for breath, "A family of Gotham helped me once. Their young son found me sleeping in one of Gotham's parks in the early morning; they took me in for a time." Smiling fondly, my mind flashed back.

"**This is hardly a comfy place to sleep." **

**Startled****,**** I jumped up from my makeshift bed****.****T****here was a young man around my age looking at me. My first glance confirmed what I already knew; he was wealthy. An Armani suit framed his lanky form perfectly; it took me only a glance to notice he was also donning a cashmere scarf. I looked at him in jealously for a moment****.**_**H**__**ow dare he disturb my hard-won sleep**_**?**

"**Hello… Miss****,**** are you ok****ay?****" **

**Shaken from my thoughts, I glared at him and started gathering my merger ****of**** possessions. **

"**Don't worry, I am leaving. Sorry I disturbed your evening." Mumbling as I walked away, a hand on my arm stopped me. Immediately I reacted, slamming my fist into his nose. Yelping he released me, his hand now holding his bloody nose****;**** a flicker of guilt hit me. **

"**You shouldn't just grab people like that." Sighing****,**** I unwrapped his scarf from around his neck, shooing his hands away I pressed it to his nose. **

"**Keep that there for about ten minutes, then go to the hospital." He looked at me questionably, "I might have broken it." **

**Releasing the scarf so he could help himself, I backed off slowly and picked up my possessions again. Turning I started to walk away—**

"—**wait" **

**This time he was smart enough not to grab my arm; I stopped. **

"**Why are you here****?****W****here is your family****?****" **

**I stiffened slightly at the question, but figured I owed him an honest answer. **

"**Dead****.****" ****S****ilence ****surrounded**** around us. **

"**Oh, well would you like somewhere to stay tonight?" **

**I spun around furious, hand poking the boy in the chest I growled at him. "I am not for sale, now go home to mommy and daddy." **

"**What! No… I meant, my parents, well they help people like you." He stammered for a second in embarrassment, "Homeless people, I mean." **

"That had been the start of one of the best few months of my life, as it turned out Johnny, the boy, hadn't lied. His parents took me in and got me my first job cleaning a hospital. Eventually I had to leave though; I refused to be a burden any longer on them."

Bane stared down at me, unspeaking for only a moment.

"Are you still in contact with them?"

I frowned for a moment at the question. There was no way I could put them in danger.

"No." I lied, but for a good cause.

Bane lifted an eyebrow, but didn't comment on my obvious falsity. Instead he looked back at Barsad, "You will go find these supplies now."

Nodding once, the man in question left without a backwards glance. Now alone again with Bane, I looked nervously around me. I really had no choice but to find out what he was doing, but it might help me should I ever escape this sewer.

"So… What do you do then?"

Chuckling lightly, the boss man turned and went back to his table. I followed him; all that was on the desk were outlines of some strange tank-like car. It was instantly recognizable.

"Is that the Batman's tank?!" I moved forward to get a better look; at the top of the blueprints was the logo for Wayne Enterprises. "Wait, Bruce Wayne was the Batman?"

"You are very observant, small one. It might get you in trouble one day." He didn't sound threatening, merely vigilant, but I backed away anyway.

"Sorry."

"It is nice that you are so submissive now, however, I find myself wondering how long it will take for that to leave. Perhaps you need another lesson."

"No!" Shocked with my own outburst, I glared at the ground. It was the only real safe thing to look at in this room. "But, if you think I need a lesson…please just do something to me; I don't want to see somebody else hurt because of something I did."

A hand gripped me under my chin; it tightened slightly as my face was brought up. Choking slightly, I cursed Bane silently as he stared down at me.

"Do you know why I keep you around? Why I have not yet let you join the many statistics of this city?"

My eyes must have said no, because I sure as hell couldn't speak with his ever tightening hand.

"Because, even after all you have been through, you are still so innocent of this world."

_Yeah__,__ right__._

"Ah, you do not believe me." Bane moved in close, every inch of his body was now pressing against mine and forcing me into the wall.

_Caught between a rock and a hard place__._

The words I so wished to say flittered through my mind, I was far too frightened to speak them though. All I could smell, feel, and taste was Bane's presence; it was an intimidation method that worked perfectly.

"Tell me, small one. Have you ever felt true agony, or been forced to commit and watch unspeakable acts?"

His hand released my neck a little; I jerked my head in a quick shake, no.

"With barely a thought I could commit such acts upon you, or have one of my brothers do it. I believe that they would enjoy it, but what purpose would their joy serve?" Bane paused for a moment; flicking a piece of hair from my face he tilted his head to the side. "You are very pretty; it would be no great task on my part to destroy your innocence."

"I thought you didn't believe in rape?" I spat the words out, every inch of me hating the position and questions he was constantly asking me.

"If I believed it would serve a purpose, I would destroy everything that makes you, you."

All I could hear was the breath coming from his apparatus.

"Would you still offer yourself for punishment, if you knew this would be the result?"

Everything in me begged my mind to say yes, I would take this punishment rather than pass it on. But that would be a lie.

"No." Broken and whispered, the words sent guilt into every part of my body.

"Very well, small one, you are learning. Now, return to your safety net."

I didn't wait for him to tell me twice. The second I was released, I took off immediately, only one thought running through my brain now.

_ESCAPE__._

**Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter :D Cheers to Darkinyron for Beta'in **


	7. Chapter 7

**Little uncertain about this chapter, but enjoy anyway **

I glanced around the bathroom, adding to the bag of supplies I had 'borrowed' from around Bane's room. So far I had clothing, a book, and a blanket. Having been homeless before, I knew what would be needed.

I passed the mirror, having to double take when I saw my neck. Going from left to right, over my windpipe, was a very 'Bane' sized handprint. It looked like somebody had painted my neck in red—I took a closer look around the edges where it was already starting to bruise.

"Damn it."

My throat ached and I cursed my easily bruised body, but didn't dwell. Already forgetting my forlorn reflection, I stuffed a few more essentials into my bag, then stuffed said bag behind the fridge.

_Now we play the waiting game__._

From previous experience, I knew Bane slept deeper than anybody I had ever met. Shocking when one considered his profession, but then, I suppose he felt this room was secure enough to sleep deeply. Whatever the reason, it meant that the best time for me to slink past everybody would be at night time.

I glanced quickly at the digital clock Bane had brought me; it wouldn't be long before he would retire for the night. He would spend several hours each night before sleep in his room; most of the time he made sure I stayed here with him. But on occasion I was ordered out; I had no idea what he did during _that _time.

Grabbing one of my novels, I slumped on the bed and stared at it for a moment and then looked properly around the room in confusion.

_Bane has been getting me an awful lot of stuff lately__._

Over the past few weeks he has slowly filled the room with things I might like. New novels, comfy chairs and even a bookcase were moved in while I patched up his men for him. In some strange way I had a feeling that he was trying to thank me. But then again, I would more likely to stay warm and safe here if it was more homey. It did make me wonder exactly why he kept me though; surely he could find ano—

"Why so contemplative, small one?

Startled, I finally noticed Bane in the doorway; God only knows how long he has been watching me for. The man seemed to move surprisingly silent for one so large.

His eyebrow rose, he was expecting an answer.

"Why is this room full of stuff for me?"

I never could seem to stop myself from asking an honest question.

Bane didn't answer me.

I elaborated, "I mean, you said I wasn't a captive. But, here I still am." I gestured around me, "and the room is full of stuff to make it feel more like a home."

When he still didn't answer I sighed softly and mumbled _never mind_. It was only when I sat down in a chair that Bane deigned to speak.

"Do you dislike what I have given you?" He moved into the room until he stood in front of me.

I didn't dare show how frightened I was, it was easier to just keep a blank face for the moment.

"No, I simply question your motives." Head tilted, I looked him in the eye. Then it hit me. "Stockholm syndrome. That's what you're trying to do to me, you want me to want to stay."

He smiled beneath his mask. It was a cruel smile.

"Is it working, small one?"

I thought for a moment. _Has my attitude towards Bane shifted_? The truth was that it had. I was terrified that he would harm somebody else for my attitude problems, but I no longer saw the man as an immediate threat to my health. At least, that was the case until he threatened earlier on.

"No." My answer came out too quick for it to be anything but a lie.

Chuckling, Bane moved away from me and towards the fridge. Reaching inside he grabbed out a bottle of water and walked into the bathroom. Nearly every night he would grab something to eat or drink and move into the bathroom to consume it. Every time he did I could hear the slight hiss and click of his mask being taken off, but I was always too frightened to have a peek. Today I stood up.

_Bad, evil idea…_

Slowly I edged towards the open door, I knew it must be a test and one that I had passed for a few weeks, but I just had to know. Poking my head around I stared at Bane, I could see his entire face through the reflection in the mirror. Barely biting back a gasp, I took him in. He was… handsome.

Shockingly plump lips were wrapped around the bottle of water, as he took a gulp I watched his throat move and moved my hand to mine. When I finally looked back up his eyes were meeting mine.

"Crap."

Gasping softly I flew back into the bedroom, milliseconds later Bane dwarfed the doorframe of the bathroom. His mask was still off.

"Did you enjoy the show?" He moved into the room further. Unconsciously, I took a step back. "I have to admit, I had hoped that you would resist your curiosity for a little longer, but I cannot say that I am surprised."

My eyes hadn't left his. I was carefully trying to match every move of his to mine, so I could keep a safe distance.

"What is wrong, small one?" His lips tilted up in a mocking manner. "You cannot help but stare at the scarred monster of The Pit."

He was mocking himself and I frowned because of it, then it sunk in what he said.

_Scars?_

He was right. Somehow I had totally missed the jagged lines that slashed through his mouth and nose. Even I could tell that the healing job had been botched, it seemed like half of the scars had been sealed with fire and the other half with stitches that became infected.

"I wasn't staring at the scars. I didn't even notice them." Even to my ears my voice sounded shocked, and I was.

Bane frowned for a moment and tilted his head; I had a feeling that he was regarding me in a new light. Then he was gone. I could hear him rummage through the bathroom before I heard a familiar 'click.' He walked back into the bedroom, this time giving me no chance to backup as he crowded me.

"You think to turn me against my cause? By pretending to feel compassion for me, perhaps even affection?"

I was stumped, then frightened when his hand rose and started fingering the marks he had left on my neck.

"I do not require your compassion or anything else, not when I already have _hers_." He spoke with such reverence that I instantly knew who he spoke of: Miranda.

Banes continual touching of my neck and the faraway look in his eyes was making me nervous. An angry Bane I could deal with, maybe even playful, but this was a whole other ball game.

"Why do you keep the mask on?" My voice broke through the silence. Bane stiffened instantly and lowered his hand, he did move away however.

"I am only remembered when I wear the mask." He touched one of the valves of it. "It also keeps me well supplied with medication."

It barely took me a second to understand what he meant. The scars must cause him perpetual agony, the slight hiss I always heard from his mask was pain medication flooding his body.

Despite the danger I was facing, I tilted my head and looked him up and down once.

"You don't feel much of anything do you? No pain."

It seemed like a sad kind of life to live. For me, pain reminded me that I was alive and human, and that I hadn't become one of the many monsters who fed off of Gotham's suffering people.

"Do you believe pain to be important?"

I thought for a moment then shook my head.

"Not for somebody like you."

He stared down at me for a moment, and then moved away. I shuddered slightly at the loss of body heat, but otherwise did nothing to portray how bat-crap scared I was.

Then, for the first night in a long time, Bane actually left the room and me to my own devices. Slowly, I sunk to the ground, panting slightly, and the awareness of how close I had come to tipping my captor over the edge sunk in.

…

I only moved from the floor when I heard Bane's heavy footsteps returning hours later. Stumbling slightly, I jumped into the bed and huddled in my corner. The light in the room had dimmed greatly, but Bane didn't seem to have any difficultly moving around the room. There were a few thuds, his heavy vest being removed, and then silence.

He must have known that I wasn't asleep, but he didn't say anything as he shifted me slightly so it would be a more comfortable sleep for him. I was used to this by now. The mattress dipped as he moved behind me, and my body rolled into the side of his and I found myself in our usual sleeping position. Me on my side facing away, with him on his back with one arm spread as a pillow for me.

I waited until his breathing went deep, and then waited nearly another hour to be sure. Finally, after deeming it safe to move, I rolled away from Bane and sat up slowly. Subconsciously, I breathed in a sigh of relief when he didn't move at all. Too scared to wait any longer, I grabbed my bag from behind the fridge and darted out the door. It shut silently behind me.

The corridor was deserted, but I still moved carefully as possible down it. Terrified at any second I would hear Bane's footsteps following me. My journey went undisturbed as I walked through the hallways, searching for a manhole. Any people I did run into didn't look twice at me; they were too used to seeing me walk around un-escorted. Eventually I came to Bane's lair; I had expected this so wasn't entirely shocked. There were many more people in here-more than I would have expected-including Barsad.

Struck dumb with my own stupidity, I stared at him for a second and he at me. His eyes darted to my rucksack and narrowed in suspicion.

"What is it you a doing here, Clara?" His tone left no doubts that he knew exactly what I was up to.

"Uhh," as I scrambled for an answer, Barsad flicked his finger and one of the men left the room, to get Bane no doubt.

Stalking ever closer Barsad looked down at me accusingly. Guilt was suffocating me, but I couldn't allow my plans to be disrupted, it was far too dangerous for me to stay here. With my once friend moving closer, I shifted back towards the railing. Behind me I could hear rushing water, I dared a glance down.

_Sewer system seems extra flowy today…_

"Was it so horrible for you here, Clara?" Barsad obviously wasn't bothering to hide the hurt in his voice; we had become quite close.

"It is far better to be underground here then amongst the sewage up there."

I didn't miss the irony in his speech, but it didn't stop me from hoisting myself up onto the railing. Guns crocked all around me.

_Gunna need a miracle to get out of this one__…_

And it came. Loud clunking announced him first, and then I sensed his eyes on me. Slowly, I looked over at the man who had kept me captive in the dark, even if it was for only a few weeks, then mental torment would probably last a lifetime. At the noise of him I wasn't the only one who looked, several of his men turned to face their leader. I took my chance.

Dropping backwards I landed with a disgruntled _OOMPH _on the wet concrete, and then I just held on for the ride. The high water swept me down the drain quicker than I would have liked. I could vaguely hear shouting and then the firing of guns. Shrieking, I held my hands over my head. A pointless endeavour, one of the bullets nicked my arm.

_HOLY MOTHER OF GOD__!_

But the rushing water didn't stop and I was swept down the sewer, bloodied arm and all.

**Tell me what you think, y'all know I love reviews. **

**Xoxo **

**Future**


	8. Chapter 8

Ok so this is unedited, I sent it to my beta Dark but I didn't get any reply or anything for three days haha so I am thinking holiday or something :)

Anyway, here it is.

xoxo

Future

Spewing water out for the fifth time in ten minutes, I glared at the tunnel I had found myself in after falling down **another** cleverly hidden hole. Shock had settled in so I barely felt the wound on my shoulder, even then I was pretty sure it was superficial. I could literally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

_RUN TOWARDS THE LIGHT BITCH_

Hushing my mind and excitement, my legs didn't move any faster down the tunnel, I was too frightened that Bane's men might hear me.

I could only imagine what I looked like spewing out of the end; a mad looking girl, gripping a bloody shoulder. Unsurprisingly people gasped when they saw me, not that I could actually see them, after weeks without sunlight my eyes were shot.

"Ma'am, are you ok?" A man's voice, I could instantly smell cop on him.

_Must be the righteousness in the voice _

"Just dandy. Got lost playing a game and fell down…" I droned out as my visioned cleared. It seemed that this particular tunnel led out into a park, a very busy park. All around people were staring or snubbing me, so same old crap. The boy in blue was just that, a boy. He hardly looked older than me and had such an earnest look on his face I almost told him what happened, but who would believe me?

"Would you like me to accompany you to the hospital, Ma'am?"

Chuffing out a breath I stepped out further into the light, it felt so dang nice.

"No thanks and the name is Clara, not Ma'am."

My gaze quickly took in the park. All around flowers were blooming and gardeners were tending to them.

_Brilliant not only a park, but a posh park_.

"Do… Do you have somewhere to go?" He must have taken in my ragged look, _clever boy_.

"Yeah, thanks officer…"

"Blake, John Blake."

I sent him a real smile, it was rare one found a police who actually gave a damn about anybody not wearing real fur, even with the Dent Act and supposed caring commissioner.

"Officer Blake then… bye" awkwardly I waved to him with my uninjured arm. Turning I walked off, knowing I would need as much distance between myself and any tunnels connecting to Bane's lair as possible, that and my arm was starting to sting.

Footsteps fell into place behind me; I didn't need to guess as to who it was.

"I'm pretty sure that stalking is illegal."

Behind me the man in question stifled a laugh, jogging a little he caught up to me. I took a moment to really look at him. He was cute, with his puppy dog eyes and black hair, plus having killer cheekbones helped his overall demeanour.

"Not stalking Miss Westborough." I froze and turned.

"You know who I am." It wasn't a question. My voice was small; already I could feel the bars closing in around me.

"Yes." He didn't look at me the way most people of the law, or anybody, had. They had hatred in their eyes, condemning me for a crime I had no part of.

"Are you going to arrest me?" That was a question, one I could feel the answer to.

Officer Blake looked at me for a moment and shook his head. "No" he started walking again; shocked I couldn't do anything but follow him.

"Why, I mean not that I want to be arrested, but really, why?"

As we walked we passed even more people who stared, I supposed we looked a sight, the cop and the homeless girl.

"You got dealt a bad deal, Clara. You father broke the law and was judged and tried accordingly, I never saw the point in persecuting you. Besides, your connection was lost to the crimes when your father died."

This I couldn't understand, why had the CIA agents wanted to take me with them if I wasn't technically worth anything.

_Revenge _

I had suspected that was the reason before, now this confirmed it.

"Oh." What more could a girl say?

We reached the end of the park; I could clearly see the different ways we would go. Officer Blake's path would take him straight to the Upper East Side police station and greater things; mine would lead to another homeless shelter and dark alleys to sleep in.

"Come with me." The muttered suggestion startled me, but I could see from his eyes that Blake meant it.

Smiling I scoffed lightly, "I think I have gotten enough people in trouble in the past."

"Let me worry about the people," his sideways grin forced one out of me, and then he motioned towards my injured arm. "Besides, I know from experience that even superficial wounds from a bullet need to be cleaned."

"How did you…" He tapped his badge before I could ask the question. Of course a cop would recognize a gunshot wound, even if I only removed my hand for a moment.

…

John Blake was not only funny, but also caring. Rather than take me to the hospital, which I had no doubt he could have had he wished, he took me to his home. Along the way he nodded and smiled to enough people for me to know that I was safe, just encase he turned out to be a mass-murdering psychopath. I'd had my fill of those.

The apartment was a typical two bedroom bachelor pad; food was lying in containers half eaten and clothes were thrown about. But it was by far better than anything I had to live in, including Bane's little hideaway.

"Can you please remove your jacket?" Any other girl might have been suspect at the question, but they hadn't just been shot and needed attention.

Slowly so as not to jar the wound, which I was now fully feeling, I tugged down the leather jacket. John took it from me, but not before palming it for a second; he gave me a suspicious look he thought I didn't see. I knew what he was thinking, how could a homeless girl afford a good quality jacket? He didn't question me though, and tossed the jacket on the back of one of his kitchen chairs.

"Hold out your arm."

I did, wincing slightly at his probing fingers I tried to think of something else.

"How did you manage to get winged anyway?"

Coughing out a laugh, I looked at him from beneath my lashes. His eyes were darting from me to my jacket to the wound, obviously trying to put the pieces together.

"If I told you that, I would be putting you in danger." It was an honest answer for an honest question.

Rather than argue, John nodded and set to work bandaging my wound. The sight of it didn't bother me, not after several weeks working for Bane, but I looked away. I felt the exact second he started stitching me up, but what good would crying out do?

"So what have you been doing all these years? Clara Westborough, that can't have been an easy name to get a job with." I could tell he was trying to distract me by asking questions, but if it made him feel better…

"Whatever I could really, worked as a janitor a lot… They don't ask for papers." Giving off a small smile, my mind flashed momentarily back to when I was telling Bane this.

John smiled back, his hands quickly wrapping a white bandage around my arm.

"Would you like a job?"

My suspicious nature snapped forward before I could stop it.

"Doing what?"

John smiled easily and reached for something off his kitchen table, it was a pamphlet. He handed it to me; it was about a young boy's home down in the Narrows.

"What could I possibly do there?" I flipped over the pamphlet; it showed a single black and white photo of some man helping a child read. How… touching

"Well, you spent a lot of time on the streets, even Gotham's streets at one point, if the stories are true?" John walked around the kitchen as he spoke; obviously he was a man who liked to be mobile.

It took me a second to realize he had asked me a question.

"Yes. I mean, I was around Gotham some time ago." I didn't offer up any more information and John didn't ask.

I couldn't resist asking, "There are stories about me."

My hands twisted together nervously, something about being infamous made me uncomfortable.

"Yes, well, among the cops there are." He paused for a moment then sat across from me, his hands copying mind unconsciously. "You were a big prize, kind of like an instant detective status for whoever could catch you. We heard about Johnny Sacks, quite an interesting man, used to run a sort of unofficial homeless shelter with his parents."

"Is Johnny ok?" I had been worried about him for a while, ever since I split actually.

John smiled and nodded, I let out an unconscious breath of relief.

"Why did you leave? I mean, it was a smart move considering two days after you got lost we found out where you had been hiding."

_I didn't realize it was that close_

Truth was, I had a gut feeling that the cops would show up sooner or later. People always noticed Johnny and they started noticing me when I walked with him. It was too dangerous to stay, but I couldn't tell John that.

"He had done all he could for me, it was time to move on." And I had moved on, several cities away actually. Now I was stuck back here, until I could get enough money to leave again. _Speaking of which_.

"What was the job you wanted me to do, at the boy's home?"

Accepting my change of subject, John relaxed back in his chair, smart enough to realize I wouldn't confess anymore today.

"Pretty simple deal, can you use a computer?"

…

When I had answered yes to John's question, I hadn't realized exactly what he meant.

_This isn't a bloody computer, it's a fossil_

After John had found me something to wear-baggy jeans and a GPD shirt-he took me down to the boy's home. I was introduced to the man in charge, a Mr Reilly, who was only too happy to accept the assistance. Turned out the gig would be un-paid, but I didn't really mind, John offered his bed (I insisted I sleep on the couch instead of him) in exchange for me helping Reilly. It wasn't an ideal situation, I still needed money to escape Gotham, but this would give me something easy to do until my arm healed and I got a little more control over my life. Once I finished pleasantries with Reilly, he showed me to the 'computer'. I didn't let my dismay show, just sat down and pressed what I hoped was the on button.

While Reilly went to check on his playful flock, John stayed with me.

"So… How does being homeless sound now?" The playful tone made me smile; it was nice to simply banter with somebody. Ya know, without the fear of somebody getting shot should I say the wrong thing.

"To be honest, the park bench is looking pretty dang sweet right now."

John laughed along with me. He ran his hand through his hair-a habit I had started to notice-and looked around the room.

"There used to be a lot of money coming into this place, not really sure what happened. Guess people aren't as giving anymore." Some of the boys ran past the open door, they couldn't have been older than fourteen. "In another year those kids will be gone, having to find work and grow up too fast."

I surfed through the past records while he spoke, following instinct I typed in his name. It came up with nothing, only a Robin John Blake on file. Worth a shot.

"How did you become more than that, more than another statistic?" At his shocked look I turned the computer around so he could see how I knew; he gave me a bashful smile.

"Got lucky I suppose, that and I was an only child. A lot of these kids have brothers or sisters who they have to watch out for, to make big money you have to sometimes do worse things than if you were alone."

Nodding in understanding, I turned the screen back around and tried to figure out where to start. I had just created a sub folder to put some of the older orphan's files in, when John shocked me out of my technology stupor.

"There was another reason I wanted you to come here…"

"Oh?" I looked over at him, his face was serious enough for me to straighten up and fully listen.

"Like I said before, you lived on the streets for a long time. That's where these kids are going, the streets, a sad truth." He looked slightly embarrassed for a second, "can you teach them how to survive?"

I scoffed out a laugh. "You're a cop, and you want me to teach these kids how to steal and trick their way through life?"

John shook his head vehemently. "God no, the last thing we need is more kids in Juvie. But, you can teach them how to get jobs without needing the proper paperwork… and, find somewhere safe to sleep if they are caught out on the streets."

I noticed something strange in his eyes, like he knew something bad was going to happen.

"Look Clara, people have been found dead all over the city. Not enough for the media to get wind of it, but enough for it to be a worry. Many of them are Orphans. We can't figure out where they are disappearing to, but the almost all wash up from sea or in the sewers."

_Bane_

I kept silent and didn't let my face display any emotion, John continued.

"I…I want to help them, but that's impossible, they won't talk to a cop. But they might talk to you."

It was easy to see what he wanted, clear as day in fact.

"You want me to not only teach them how to survive, but also to find out where they are going to?"

He nodded. I pretended to think about it for a moment.

"Ok, I'll teach them what I know, but I doubt they will tell me about where they are going, John."

Nodding John ran his hands through his hair.

"If they do tell you anything, can you tell me? I just want to put a stop to this."

"Yes."

_No_

There was no way I could tell John what was going on, but I could certainly ensure that as few children as possible ended up working for Bane.


	9. Chapter 9

There had never been a time when Bane awoke slowly; it was always a case of being asleep one moment and totally alert the next. Even Talia's occasional presence in his bed, for purely emotional reasons, did not allow him to relax. It had only been a recent thing that he had started to sleep more deeply, something he had no choice in, considering he had to custom his body to Clara's constant shifting for comfort.

It was because of this new lack of alertness, that he hadn't felt her leave the bed. The absence only noted when the lack of warmth sunk in.

Eyes snapping open, Bane was almost immediately on his feet. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had planned her escape, which meant she had noticed how deeply he now slept around her.

_Clever girl._

Smiling in anticipation of the hunt, Bane walked out the door. His sheer size made it pointless for him to even jog, and the odds were in his favor that he would still catch his captive. His men immediately moved out of his way, their heads slightly bowed in subtle but powerful respect.

He knew that his captive was near when he heard Barsad's voice. Clara seemed to be the only one he would truly speak to besides Bane himself. Barsad was a true brother dedicated to his cause.

"Was it so horrible for you here, Clara?" Barsad obviously wasn't bothering to hide the hurt in his voice; Bane knew that they had become close. "It is far better to be underground here then amongst the sewage up there."

Using a fear tactic he had learnt at a younger age, back when he had first escaped the pit, Bane threw his feet down so they made a louder noise. Much of what the league taught him was to take advantage of his size, not hide in the shadows like a common assassin.

His step barely faltered when he entered the room.

Clara was standing on one of the many rails above the sewage tracks. He had only a split second to take in the quite magnificent image of her short haired visage's terrified eyes, before she dropped down.

Only a single step was taken from him, and his men open fired without orders. Cold calm seeped over Bane, the same kind he was taught to embrace.

Without pausing in his movements, Bane snapped the necks of two ex-brothers, before glancing over the edge of the railing. The water had red in it, but he was unable to get a proper glimpse of Clara before she was swept down the toilet, so to speak. _(LOL! Poor girl!)_

Barsad was similarly looking over the edge. Only Bane could detect the slight worry in his eyes; otherwise the man was emotionless.

"It would seem our traitor has escaped… Send the men out, bring her back." The jovial voice broke through the sound of rushing water.

"Is that truly necessary, my friend?" Bane froze at the loved voice and turned. (His men also haltered in their leaving, knowing better than to follow an order of Bane's should it be altered by this woman.)

There Talia stood; she had a slight smirk on her face that he instantly copied, even though she could not see.

"Talia." Opening his arms Bane walked towards her; she stepped into them naturally. Around them his men shifted restlessly, but it mattered not. Stepping back slightly, Bane moved his hands to her shoulders and traced his thumbs along her collarbone.

"What brings you here? Are your plans not progressing properly?"

Sighing softly, Talia moved from his grip and leaned against the railing Clara had recently jumped over.

"Everything is progressing as expected; I merely wished to spend time with you... We have so little left."

There was no sadness in either of them at the reminder, for they had long ago accepted their fate, embraced it even.

Something occurred to Bane and he faltered for a moment, exactly how long had Talia been here.

"You saw her jump?"

She nodded.

Bane bit back a strange anger at this. Talia could have easily stopped her.

"Why let her go? Do you wish to help me hunt her back?"

Tittering softly, Talia moved closer and ran a hand down his cheek. Barely resisting the urge to close his eyes, Bane instead kept them glued to the only person he had ever loved.

"She fought so hard to escape this place Bane, is it fair to bring her back, especially considering we once fought just as hard to escape our prisons?"

This time moving himself from Talia's touch, Bane walked until he reached his 'area'; Talia followed and allowed him this moment to think.

"This is hardly a prison." Gesturing wide with his arms, Bane smiled beneath his mask. This was the beginning, not an end, unlike the pit.

"Perhaps not to you, my love." Talia looked around for a moment, adding "Or me," as an afterthought. "But to one who is unaccustomed to the darkness, and uncommitted to our cause, it could seem as such."

"Why should this matter?" Frustrated, Bane paused for a moment. "Why should this matter to you, Talia?"

"Because she does not belong here…" Smiling softly, Talia added. "No more than I belong up there."

He didn't need to ask what she meant. Talia belonged in the darkness with him, not cavorting with Gotham's finest.

"Let her go, Bane."

"And if she should speak of us, of our plan?"

A blade was in Talia's hand quicker than even Bane could catch. She toyed with it lovingly.

"Then I shall hunt her down myself."

**Ok after this there is going to be a time jump, so fair warning… Also, sorry the chapter was so short, but it needed to be :/ **

**Xoxo**

**Future**


	10. Chapter 10

_Six months later_

"I heard that there is more work going down, ya know, below…"

The soft spoken voice was easily recognizable—Josh. Despite my best efforts and the help of John, many of the young boys still found themselves looking for work underground, even after I had started teaching 'survivalist classes', and that was months ago.

"There isn't any work beneath the city that you want to be doing, trust me."

Slinking around the corner and into the room, I silently stared Josh down. The other boys quickly left, knowing when I was going to impart some wisdom. The truth was though, I was sick of trying my best to protect them, only to end up watching them disappear over time. It was all made worse when I lied to John about the boys telling me where they were going, as I had always known.

"I ain't done nothin' wrong." Josh, the obviously guilty boy, kicked his feet around and stared at the ground.

I took a moment to look him over. He was older than the other kids, probably about fifteen, close to the age when we had to make them leave. He must have been terrified and looking for somebody to take the leap with him, but I couldn't let him target the other boys.

"It's your business if you want to work underground, Josh. But if I catch you trying to convince the other boys, I will chuck you out before your time."

I hated to threaten, but after a lot of trial and error, I had learnt it was pretty much all that would work. Josh nodded quickly, knowing I meant business. I dismissed him with a wave of my hand, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that he would be gone by tonight anywa—

"Clara."

John's voice broke through my musings. Smiling, I turned to face him. As per-usual he was wearing the once hated uniform. I could tell that this wasn't a social call because he looked upset.

"What's wrong?" Frowning slightly, I took his hand and moved him into the classroom, closing the door behind us.

Immediately John took me into his arms; this support was for him not me. Clutching him softly, I repeated my question.

"What happened, John?"

He coughed slightly and moved from my arms.

"Jimmy's dead."

My eyes shot to the ground in guilt. I had known Jimmy—fat lot of good my 'teaching' did for him.

"How many so far, Clara? How many are going to be sucked into that fucked up life?"

I knew he wasn't looking for an answer, so I just gathered him into my arms again, supporting him the only way I could. Every time a boy was found washed up or killed, John felt he could have done something to stop it, even if the boy was never under our care.

"We should tell his brother." The words were harsh, but I had to say them.

John nodded and moved from me and out the door. After a moment I followed.

Children were screaming playfully and running around our legs as we walked up the stairs. I would do anything to keep the horrors of Gotham from them.

Mr. Reilly was inside his office. It was a simple room and about as sparse as the rest of the building.

"John?" There was no happiness in Reilly's voice; John only came around these days if it was bad news. "Who was it this time?"

"Jimmy."

Reilly's eyes closed for a moment; I felt slightly out of place considering how well these two must have known Jimmy.

"Jimmy hadn't been around for months. He left about a month after Clara arrived." He sent me a small smile.

"Why?"

"Blake, you know why. He aged out; we don't have the resources to keep boys on after sixteen. Most we can do is teach them what we know, and wish them well."

"I thought the Wayne Foundation gave money for them…"

"Not for the past couple of years."

I fumed silently at this; the wealthy people of Gotham—Wayne included—lived high and privileged lives, while boys like Jimmy were forced to go to men like Bane for work. It was wrong.

"He has a brother, doesn't he?"

Reilly nodded. "Mark, I'll tell him."

"I'd like to, if that's alright?"

"He can usually be found on the roof. Clara can take you there."

I didn't bother pointing out that John knew the way; Reilly was a fan of propriety.

Thanking him, John and I walked up to the roof; it was a silent and sad journey. Once there John asked me to wait for him while he talked to Mark. I could tell the second he told the boy and instantly knew that Mark would need all the help I could give him—once John left that is—wouldn't do for a boy to cry in front of a heroic figure.

…

"What did you find out?" Posing the question to John, I prayed he wouldn't find out enough to investigate.

"He was working in the sewers. I gotta find out what's going on down there."

I stopped John on the stairs.

"You can't." He gave me a questioning look, so I quickly changed my tone. "I mean, not alone. Find the evidence, John, and then show it to Commissioner Gordon. He seems like a good man."

"Why do you care so much, Clara? About the boys… about me?"

Soft brown eyes locked with mine.

"B—because I can help them and can help you. You're my best friend John; we've known each other for only six months and already I know I can trust you."

I knew it wasn't the answer he wanted, somewhere along the way our relationship had evolved into something more. But with the enduring threat of Bane being out there, I couldn't risk John's life. I cared for him too much.

Even with all my secrets, John still just nodded and kissed me softly on the cheek. I was the only one he was so careful with.

"I love you too Clara."

Smiling softly, I nodded and we parted ways.

…

Not long after John had left I found myself again on the roof, only this time I was the one talking to Mark. He filled me in on what he had told John about his brother, that he found work below ground; I believed that he knew nothing more about it.

"I like your drawings."

Mark sent me a quick glare, his fingers working angrily at creating small chalk bats. There were many of them on the bench, most probably made by other children. Or just one lost child.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a kid."

Nodding softly I picked up a piece of chalk, copying his creations.

"Do you believe in the Batman, Mark?" It wasn't like asking a child if they believed in Santa Clause; the Batman was a real thing, a real person.

He shrugged.

"See, I used to." My finger traced the white bat I had created, staining my skin. "Used to think he was worth believing in. I suppose I still do, but he won't change anything anymore."

The young boy snorted, "I suppose you believe he killed that Dent man?"

"Oh, no." Chuckling slightly, I rubbed my hands on my pants. "Why would a man who had done everything to help us, decide to destroy the one real chance Gotham had…? Doesn't make sense, really."

Mark was finally taking note of me.

"I think Gotham missed something. In all the chaos of that week, I think that they overlooked something and it cost them more than just their Harvey Dent, it cost them their honour."

Truth was, I had been far away when Batman disappeared. I had only witnessed the aftermath, same as Mark.

"You don't think he will come back?" His question was soft, so softly spoken that I barely caught it and its representation of hope.

"Anything can happen I suppose. I mean, Gotham has had a fear inducing toxin and a psychopathic clown, so why shouldn't the Batman returning be any more of a stretch of the imagination?"

Mark was silent for a time, as was I.

"Y—you run a class, about how to live your life, live safe inside Gotham."

No hesitation. "Yes."

"I'll be there next class, if that's okay." He looked frightened that I would reject him, equally so that I would accept him and offer him options.

"Of course; every day at eleven."

"Okay."

I knew our conversation was over. Slowly, so as not to startle Mark's already fragile state, I stood and walked away.

As it was I had already given my one class for the day. Since there was really no point in hanging around, so I left.

…

Gotham was the kind of city one could never call beautiful, it was too…much. Like somebody had suddenly decided to shove millions of people, shops and problems into one area and call it a home. It would never be home to me; in my mind, home was a small cottage in an endless field of green. Corny, but perfect.

As it was, I was currently walking home through the evening light. John hated the fact that I didn't drive-a strange fear of somehow causing a mass accident- and preferred to walk everywhere. But so long as I kept on arriving home safe, he couldn't really argue his case.

Degenerates and criminals walked alongside me through the Narrows, but they didn't really notice me. Even with my new, longer hair and more feminine clothes, they obviously sensed that I wouldn't hesitate to 'tear them a new one' should they accost me.

"Clara."

The softly spoken word stopped me dead; the people around made annoyed noises as they moved around me.

Tanned hands gripped my upper arms lightly and lead me into a nearby alleyway. I didn't fight him.

When we were alone, I spoke. "Hello Barsad."

He had changed; his face was scruffier and deep lines hung under his eyes. Whatever Bane had planned was going to happen soon. Nothing else would cause an even slightly stressed look in Barsad's dark eyes.

"You escaped… not your finest decision." He sounded almost _amused_?

I took note of his face properly; he had a small smile in the corner of his mouth—a sad smile.

"I didn't belong down there, Barsad. In the dark… with him"

There was no need to wonder if he understood. Barsad worked for _him _too and no doubt watched me change for the short time I was below ground.

I asked the question that was killing me.

"Are you going to bring me back?"

He was quiet for a time before answering.

"I should, but no. Bane has issued no orders for us to bring you in should we find you."

"_Why_?" It blurted out of my mouth, making me jump in fright at my own loudness.

Barsad smiled and cracked his knuckles. I winced.

"He always said you weren't a prisoner…" Frowning for a moment, Barsad stared at something beyond my vision and understanding. "We do not require those that are not loyal to the cause."

Nodding slowly, I fiddled with the edge of my second hand coat.

"Aren't I a 'security threat' though?"

"Maybe in the first month after you escaped. But not now, not months after."

I didn't miss the happy lilt in his voice. It was comforting to know that Barsad wouldn't have enjoyed killing me.

"Why are you still in this city, Clara? You know what is coming. Why stay?" Genuinely curious, Barsad leaned back against the dirty brick wall.

"Where would I go?" Laughing lightly, I walked over and leaned next to him. Not at all concerned for the muck that would stain my coat. "I can barely afford to catch a taxi, let alone travel across the country." My eyes strayed to my fingers again; they were suddenly so interesting. "Besides, I have work I can do here."

"At the boys home."

My body snapped to attention, instantly hating the threat to the people I cared about.

"You have been watching me for a while." A statement, not a question; one Barsad nodded to. "How long?"

"A few weeks."

"Does _he _know

I puffed out a sigh of relief when Barsad shook his head, no. Then I got curious.

"Why not? I get that he isn't looking for me." I refused to acknowledge that the fact stung a little. Did I have to mean so little to people…? "But I assumed that you were his man, his to command."

Barsad barked out a short laugh.

"I may be his loyal 'dog', but I did not see the value in informing Bane of your whereabouts when I first saw you."

Something occurred to me, our meeting couldn't be accidental.

"How did you come to see me?" He didn't answer and had the decency to look slightly abashed. "Were you recruiting at the boy's home?"

"Yes. Bane offers work to many people; they are fed and kept warm."

I choked out a reply.

"You can't be serious! I have seen what happens to people below ground, Barsad. And I know that most do not make it out of there alive."

We were silent for a time until I spoke again, breaking whatever regrets he may be thinking.

"They are children, Barsad."

He moved off the wall and I knew our conversation was ending.

"There will be no innocence in the world Bane shall create." He walked towards the alley entrance, halting just before he moved into the throngs of people. "You would do well to leave Gotham, Clara. Many will not survive the 'new world'; I do not wish to see you among them."

**Cheers to amazing Beta, Darkinyron, she does such a great job haha Anyway, hope this chapter was enjoyed **

**Xoxo**

**Future**


	11. Chapter 11

There was really no reason for me to be at Gotham's version of a stock exchange. It was dirty, and smelt of unwashed men who risked everything on the whims of richer men running powerful companies. It was way above my pay grade, but thankfully I was here for a legitimate reason.

One of the ways I helped Mr Reilly, who I still felt weird calling Mathew, was by tracking down the 'other' parent, of the recently orphaned child. A five year old had come in the other day, curly white hair and dimples that would have been beautiful, had he ever smiled. Instead his face was perpetually sad, his mother's death still not something he fully understood.

More often than not, the unknowing and too often indifferent parent didn't take responsibility for the child. Mr Reilly preferred not speaking to such 'people', recently leaving that work to me. At the moment, I was tracking down a Mr Timothy Hobbins. Taking a glance at the photo, one of the American pretty Mr Hobbins holding his current wife lovingly, I looked around for him for the tenth time. It seemed every time I made half a step through the crowd, it converged upon me and I lost my way again. It was vital I found Mr Hobbins as soon as possible; his wife had refused to pick up the phone after I called and explained the situation, and she claimed her husband would have no interest in taking in his son. The only way I could get to the husband without the wife knowing, was tracking him down at his work. This… hell

A heavy foot, from a heavier set man, stomped down on my foot painfully. He glared at me like it was my fault; I bit back the urge to kick him 'where-it-hurts' and moved further alone. Ahead I could finally see the tell-tale white locks that had brought me here in the first place, Mr Hobbins was only twenty steps away and I couldn't be more relieved.

Something loud rang out over the angry crowd before I could reach him; it took me a second to recognize the sound of a gun being fired. Then the torrent of screaming began; I was too late to brace myself for the rampaging bodies. The heavy-set man from before, slammed into me. Biting back a cry I fell to the ground; the tip of somebodies shoe slamming into my face and knocking my glasses off. The pain was slightly easier to ignore than the blindness, but either way I was screwed. The stampeding people lasted for only a second, and then a semi-automatic rang out and everybody dropped to the floor with me. I was yet to hear my glasses smash thankfully, and was quite sure that they were near me.

Everything blurry, I ran my hands along the ground beside me, desperate to see what was going on around me.

There was silence, the only noise seeming to come from my slightly frantic scrambles.

And then I heard it, a noise as unmistakable to me as a police siren was to others. Heavy breathing, through a respirator of kinds.

_No_

"This is a stock exchange, there is no money here you can steal." The voice came just to the right of me. I turned my head, but could see nothing except one large shape bending over either a midget or a seated man…

"Really, then why are you people here?"

I instinctively ducked my head low, Bane's voice somehow calming and terrifying me at the same time. If he saw me, would he kill me for having escaped? Or has he by some miracle forgotten my existence?

_He is a busy man, what with the constant need to murder and hold stock exchanges up for money that they don't have. _

The sound of a rolling chair flew by me. I hunched down even lower, using my now long locks to hide my face even more. Heavy footsteps went by me. Then I heard it, something unmistakably horrible. The sound of my glasses breaking under somebodies boot.

The footsteps stopped.

"I believe these are yours."

_This is not happening, I am dreaming, this is not happening _

I still held out a hand, despite my insistence that this wasn't real, but refused to lift my head. The familiar black rimmed specs fell into my hand; I slipped them on. The damage wasn't too bad, only slightly cracked, but I still couldn't look up at the man I knew to be standing there.

"Small one." His voice brokered no excuses.

I looked up and immediately started shaking. He seemed even bigger than before, a mass of muscle that would tower over all in here, even had they not been cowering like me.

"You look frightened. Do you believe you have done something wrong?"

Finally, I found my voice.

"W—well technically, you said I wasn't a prisoner and I could leave for good if I could escape." He didn't say anything, "I escaped…"

Ducking my head slightly, I tried to fold even more into myself.

Above me, Bane made a contemplative noise. Eyes unreadable, he turned and stomped towards the man he had thrown in the wheelie chair. A man who had probably only just relaxed slightly, probably thinking his ordeal over as the masked man focused on me.

No such luck.

Grabbing his head, Bane slammed it into the console. The entire room winced at the crack. I had to force myself not to go help the man, so accustomed was I to healing somebody whenever Bane was around.

A bald man, one I didn't recognize, grabbed an I-pad from his backpack and set it quickly up next to the unconscious or dead man. Bane grabbed something off said incapacitated man and stuck it into something else. Going by the noise, I guessed a card into a slot.

Job done, Bane moved away from the console. Unsurprisingly, he walked back towards me. I barely bit back a squeak as he gripped my arm and pulled me over to where his man was doing the 'technical' stuff. I was slightly shocked when he didn't immediately release me; instead he forced me back into the console. It was sit on it, or be crushed into it. I chose the lesser of two evils.

"Tell me, Clara, what brings you here this fine Gotham day?" I didn't answer, not wanting to drag Mr Hobbins into this mess. I could see him cowering just to the right of us.

"Do you enjoy spending time around people such as this?" He opened his arms wide, indicating the entire stock exchange. "Perhaps you are here for a different reason.

The photo I had forgotten was in my hand was swiftly removed; he was staring at it before I could fight back.

"Is this man the reason you are here?" He titled his head, regarding me. "Yes, I believe he is." Flipping the card over, Bane read quickly the name on the back. "Could Mr Hobbin's please stand up; I believe that this lovely lady is here for you."

"No!" It shot out of my mouth; I calmed my voice to a whisper. "Please, Bane, don't make this your entertainment."

Bane's eyes crinkled in the corners. A heavy hand came down onto my knee, the same knee he had dislocated once before. A single rough thumb toyed over the pressure point there, making my entire calf tingle.

"I should not need to remind you what I would normally do for entertainment."

Shaking my head quickly, I prayed he would remove his hand. I could feel it through my jeans. It burned.

"Very well, Mr Hobbins." He turned his head, singling out the man himself in only a second.

Timothy Hobbins stared in shock at what was happening, would probably have pissed himself had one of Bane's men not dragged him towards us. He made small whimpering noises as he was thrown down to the right of us. In front of me, Bane didn't even bother turning his body to look at the man, one glance seeming to be enough and his eyes were back on me. I however couldn't look away from the man, in his gaze I kept on seeing his son's similar look of sadness. Now, because of me, that boy might never meet his father or have a true family.

"What is it about this… man, that would compel you to enter a place like this?"

It took me a second to find my voice, and even then it was sadly weak.

"He has a son."

At this Mr Hobbins stopped trying to look at everything but me. His gaze was on me, I knew he was trying to figure out if he had slept with me; I tried not to be insulted when he crinkled his nose at me.

I elaborated. "I work at a boy's home. A child came in the other day, his mother had passed away, and my boss asked me to track down the father…" I decided to leave out the part about his heartless wife. "This was the only place I knew he would be."

Bane chuckled, the noise somehow causing me to feel calmer. Even after all this time, I submitted to my need to not be on this man's bad side.

"Then, this is a joyous occasion." He turned towards Mr Hobbins. "You are to be a father."

With the mask on his face, it was impossible to tell if Bane was mocking the poor man or not. I wasn't going to be the one to point out that Mr Hobbins would probably reject his son, and then make a onetime donation and trust him to our care.

Apparently done with the niceties, the mass of muscle turned back towards me.

"Now, you help those to find their way to their families, what of the ones who have no family… Who are you to deny them entry into mine." Said Bane, opening his arms so I knew he meant his 'brothers' around him.

_He knows you have been keeping orphans from joining him_

"I offer them an alternative, nothing more."

Bane made a thoughtful noise, then. "You will stop this, alternative teaching, small one."

I opened my mouth to protest; one of the giant hands that had been near my thigh moved itself on top of it. His fingers brushed high on the inside of my thigh, I froze. My eyes met Bane's, there was only a second of calm before it broke it, and pushed down with his thumb.

My body curled in on itself, pain radiating from the artery he was pushing on. It was only when he released it, that I realized at some point my head had fallen forward onto his chest. Blinking back tears, I pulled my body back stiffly, not wishing any part of myself to touch him.

The people around us were whispering, I could see it on their faces that some believed that I had helped Bane gain entry to this place. Two large thumbs, softly wiped away the tears that escaped.

"So long away from us, you have forgotten who you speak to. I am the Sheppard, and soon, all of Gotham shall be my flock."

Outside the noises of the city intensified, Police sirens flooded the room. People around looked relieved, others seemed to be even more scared. I sided with the later; criminals did stupid things when faced with capture.

"How much longer does the program need?" Said Bane, his body didn't shift from near mine.

"Eight minutes." Bane's minion seemed slightly concerned, his accent very similar to Barsads.

Grunting softly under his breath, Bane finally moved away from me. I met his eyes for a moment, they promised a follow up performance.

"Time to go mobile."

Shots rang out around us. Bane's men shouting a furious, "everybody up" that I willingly followed.

My thigh didn't cause me any problems as I was jostled through the crowd, glad to be away from Bane. I turned around for only a second, watching the enormous man grab back his bike helmet.

"Thank you."

I was swallowed into the anonymous masses.

**Hey guys, been a bit of time but here is the new chapter **** the next one will hopefully be very Bane oriented. Review and tell me how you think I am doing so far, if I should change anything… ECT**

**Again thx to Beta Darkinyron, whose edited chapter will be replacing this one soon. **

**Xoxo**

**Future**


	12. Chapter 12

**Big thanks to Dark, who edits everything for me :D **

The day turned to night quickly. Almost too quickly, like the world could sense my doom and changed accordingly. In my rush to get home, I barely noticed the countless people crowded around the TV's in the shop windows. The public transport was for some reason cancelled.

_Damn Bane_

I simply assumed that he was the cause. Briskly, I shoved past people in my desire to get home. Blocks later, I finally reached the hovel I called home. After living with John for several months, I decided it was time to find my own place. He objected, but eventually relented and helped me find somewhere cheap but reasonably safe. He had still only been comfortable when I agreed to let him deck the place out in locks. I was now safer than most of Gotham's elite, except perhaps the elusive Mr Wayne.

Scurrying up the stairs, I bumped momentarily into my Landlord.

"Careful there, Aussie." Said Mr Lout, his pudgy fingers gripping my shoulders.

With a curled lip, I shrugged him off.

"Thank you very much, Mr Lout."

He sent me a yellow-toothed smile, more like a leer.

"You know I asked you to call me Barry."

_Yes, you also asked me to join you in your room the other night_

Nobody had been more annoyed than Mr Lout when John appeared, and then demanded he be allowed to put more locks on the door. Mr Lout had demanded copies of all the keys, both John and myself refused.

"I don't think so." My tone was short and clipped, the desire to run overwhelming my ingrained politeness.

Mr Lout frowned, one hand absently scratching his trackie covered crutch. "No need to be rude, Aussie. We wouldn't want anything to happen to those lovely locks of yours, never know who could break in..."

He let the sentence hang. Usually I would have reminded him that I was close friends with a police officer, as it was I was leaving anyway.

"Whatever." Grumbling out the teen-worthy avoidance measure, I shoved past him and went to my rooms.

Now, I say 'room'. The only housing I had found that doesn't require ID or anything that I didn't actually have, was this place. As such, it meant that my 'rooms' were literally a room. Plural.

A dingy fold out couch served as my bed, while a single cupboard and stove top shoves in the corner was my Kitchen. It was disgusting, but home. Over the last few months I had managed to make it less like a 100-buck monthly place. The floors had been cleaned and polished, while the walls now held their fair share of cheap but chic artwork. Truth was I was loath to leave this place. But Bane had seen me, I wasn't foolish enough to believe he would leave me be.

I was halfway towards getting my carry bag, when the door was knocked on. Freezing for a moment, I contemplated the fact that it might be Bane.

_Bane wouldn't knock, stupid!_

Which meant it was either John, or the landlord. Praying for the former, I tentatively opened the door.

"Clara?" Said John, giving me a confused look at my probable scared face. "Are you ok."

Forcing a smile, I nodded and opened the door.

"Of course, please come in."

Apparently believing me, John smile excitedly and came in.

"His back!" Laughing, John flung his hands in the air and sat on my bed. "The Batman. I saw him, well, I was forced to chase him in a car."

I had known for a while that Batman was John's hero, I found it endearing. Forgetting about my need to escape, a wild thought entered my mind.

"Did he get him? Did the Batman get Bane?"

"Bane?"

I silently cursed my slip up. John merely looked curious for a moment, before his eyes widened in understanding.

"He was the one Batman was after?! Bane took control of the Stock Exchange, why? And how do you even know that?" I winced slightly, his eyes widened. "You were there!"

John fired off his questions quickly, I barely caught them all.

"W—well, yes, I was there." John looked ready to explode, his face going a funny red. Rushing forward I sat down next to him, taking his hands in mine. "Look, I'm fine ok. I was looking for one of the children's parents; he worked as a stock marketer."

John shifted his hands from mine. He grabbed onto me, pulling me into his hold. A hand gripped the back of my neck, clutching hard. He was shaking against me slightly. Touched, I held him back.

"I'm fine, John."

Clutching me hard once more, he let me go.

"How did you know that it was Bane?" Asked John.

To be honest, I was quite surprised he even knew who Bane was. The only reason I knew who he was before I met him was because I had contact with the shadier side of the track. John hadn't.

"I—I heard about him. A few years ago, there were rumours of a man wearing a mask who acted as a mercenary."

"And this was definitely Bane?"

I thought about the protruding metal tubes, the dark eyes and the massive figure.

"There is no doubt about it."

Nodding, John grabbed my hand and stood, pulling me with him.

"Wait." Slightly panicked, I pulled my hand from his. "Where are you taking me?"

Sensing my worry, John smiled softly and motioned towards the door.

"You're going to come and stay with me."

"What? Why?" Stammering slightly, I resisted the urge to do what he said. It would be so nice to simply let John take care of me, but I couldn't risk his life when Bane came to get me.

"You're planning on running, aren't you?"

Mouth agape, I stared at him.

_How did he know?_

"You always run, Clara, running is all you know." He answered my unasked question.

"I won't," I meant it, "I won't run this time."

I prayed he wouldn't try and force me to go with him. He didn't, John just tilted his head for a moment and sighed.

"Do you promise?"

"Yes."

Nodding, John held onto me again. Clutching his back, I breathed in his scent. He smelt like pine and wood. For a moment we moved back from each other. To observers, one would think that we were lovers saying goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow, and if I don't, I will find you Clara." His voice didn't hold any forbidding. It was simply John making a promise, and it made me feel safe.

"Ok." Releasing John, I smiled softly. "I'll be at the boy's home tomorrow. I feel that they will need all the help they can get in the following months."

"Why do you say that?"

I thought about Bane's lair; whatever they had planned would affect Gotham in a big way.

"Just a feeling." Smiling calmly, I led John towards the door. He let me lead him, I was under no pretence about that.

He stopped just before leaving, "You won't leave?"

"No John, I won't... No more running."

...

The second I stepped into the boy's home, I could feel the excitement in the air. Children were rushing about, playing a game aptly named 'Batman vs. Police'. Every child wanted to be Batman.

Mr Reilly threw orders at me the second I entered the home.

"Clara, thank god you're here." The frustration showed on him, deep black circles dominated his eyes. I knew that they matched mine; I had spent a sleepless night expecting Bane to come crashing into my room. "I have nearly all the children waiting for you, more than usual showed up today." Mr Reilly was distracted by a child running past, and was gone.

Choking back a laugh, I dodged past several frazzled workers and slipped into my usual classroom. Mr Reilly had been right; there were a lot more children than usual. They went silent the moment I stepped in. Giving a nervous smile, I took my spot at the front of the room.

"Ok, so there are a lot more of you here than normal... So I will just give you a quick overview. My name is Clara, please don't worry about adding a 'miss' in front of it, I am no more of a teacher than you are." Confused murmurs broke out around me. Holding out a hand, I waited for them to quite down. "Yes, I am not a teacher. But I don't have to be, I am somebody who has lived homeless for a great amount of their life, like many of you are fearful to do. I am here to tell you that you don't have to be homeless; there are some sneaky ways to avoid 'the man'."

Some students tittered; several hands went into the air. One of them belonged to Mark; I motioned for him to ask his question.

"Yes Mark?"

Clearing his throat, Mark stood to pose the question.

"We all know something is going down, something underground." Breath hitching for a moment, Mark appeared to think about his brother. "What I mean is, how are you so sure that people are willing to give us a chance out there..."

A rejected look came over every small face. My heart ached for those who were constantly treated like dirt, just because they were orphans, or had made a few mistakes.

"I have no way of knowing for certain that the top ground is better than bellow, but I can tell you this, it is dark and scary down there."

"You have been there?" Questioned a child with bright red hair, he was holding onto the hand of one of the older children.

"Yes. And I escaped for a reason." I knew that something bad was coming, and I could either tell them the truth or leave them to the wolves when they came.

"What is this reason, small one?"

I froze; there was no question as to whom that voice belonged to. In the many children I had overlooked the one adult in the room. Bane was standing at the back of the room, hidden partially in a corner with a black leather hood obscuring his face. When everybody turned to look, he removed it. Many of the children cried out, having seen the 'bad man' on television beating people at the stock exchange. There was a moment of panic, many of the smaller children ran towards me and grabbed a-hold of my legs, using them as barriers. The older boys tried to run from the room, only to have Barsad suddenly appear at the door with an automatic rifle in his hand. From his face I knew he wouldn't hesitate to harm any who tried to dodge past him. The older boys backed off; coming to move behind me as well.

"Please, let them go, Bane." I had no choice but to protect these kids, it was my duty.

Chuckling, Bane shrugged off the leather hood. Children screamed at the sight of his mask, he would become a fixture in their nightmares for years to come.

"Fear not, no harm shall come to the little ones. They are important after all, the future of this... great city."

Bane moved towards our huddled group. Gently I disentangled the children from around my legs, directing them towards the older children. By the time Bane had reached the front of the group, I had moved so they were all behind me.

"What do you want?" I tried to act brave, I really did. But my shoulders slunk into a submissive position, almost instinctively.

"I told you what I wanted, small one. It is no fault of mine that you force me to come here, to teach a lesson." His hand reached for my wrist, I let him take it.

"I couldn't run anymore, they needed me."

His gaze met mine. He wasn't smiling or smirking, he was emotionless as he looked down. Two of his fingers dug slightly into my joint. It would only take him a slight movement; no more than the effort I extended to swatting a fly, to break one of the many bones in my wrist.

But I couldn't let the children see my fear, or pain.

"Please, Bane. Not here."

The fingers lightly teased my wrist, circling absently around my pulse. I shivered.

"They will see much worse in the time to come. Why should I spare them this now."

"They're just kids." My eyes started to water, frightened not only for myself but those under my care. "Let them keep their innocence for a little longer."

Something lit up in his eyes; a memory of something past?

He nodded once at Barsad. Barsad then moved away from the door, the older children took the hint and, grabbing the younger ones, ran from the room. They were smart enough not to call for help, knowing it would only end in pain for me. Mark was the only one to look back at me, I gave him a single watery smile, and he was gone.

Bane brought my attention back to him.

"We are leaving this place. Small one, you will accompany us. It seems you cannot be trusted to not interfere." His grip on my wrist changed. No longer punishing, it was now like a vice. "Barsad, ready the car. Release the teachers; let them return to their mundane lives."

Nodding, Barsad left the room. It became eerily silent between myself and Bane. All that could be heart was the breathing apparatus covering his face. My hands twisted together and sweat pooled at my lower back.

"Why are you taking me?" His eyes narrowed slightly at my tone, "I—I mean...I—I... Just…I don't understand. You could simply kill me…" Gulping, I prayed he wouldn't take my question as a suggestion.

Shockingly quick, for a man with his mass, Bane crowded me against the blackboard behind me. I didn't dare breath as his fingers fiddled with my hair; he seemed entranced with the longer locks.

"Do you think me selfish, small one? To wish to keep something from the horror of Gotham's future."

_Don't answer! Wrong answer = less hair _

"Nothing to say?"

Mute, I only shook my head.

Bane was obviously smirking under the mask; I could see the crinkles quite clearly in the corner of his eyes.

"Very well then, do not struggle."

His hand clamped down on my neck before I could ask what he meant. For a second, it was as if he were simply holding me to tight, then my vision started to go splotchy. Despite the warning, my body started it involuntary need to breathe. My nails didn't do any damage to his face, nor did my feet to his shins. Probably because I was so weak, kind of like a kitten scratching a tiger.

"Sleep now, small one." My eyes drooped. Bane somehow scooped my into his arms, while keeping one hand on my neck. "You will awaken to a new and glorious Gotham."

Darkness

**Hey guys, it's been about a month since the last update. Sorry about this, but I have heavy class load at the moment and am in the process of re-writing 'Freedom Flight'… I will make an effort to get more Bane chapters out. Anyway, hope you enjoy. **

**Xoxo**

**Future**


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